In contrasting fortunes, the under 17s were disjointed yet managed a 14-10 win while the 18s performed better but went down 20-10 thanks to two runaway tries in the dying minutes from Western fullback Codey Robbins.

The junior side made a lot of errors but somehow fought back from 4-nil down to lead 10-4 after Scone’s Jack Dawson crashed over and Tamworth’s Ethan Gaffney did the same in the second period of play.

Mick Ingwersen crossed for Western to level the scores but Gaffney went over for his second late in the game to steal it for the home side.

The 18s found themselves in an arm wrestle and it wasn’t until the second third of the game that Tamworth’s Joe Lockwood crashed over from close range to open the scoring.

But Jared Nicholson scored under the posts to give Western a 6-4 lead and Cameron Clarke made it 10-4 before Reece Jaeger finished off a good GNA try to level it at 10-all.

From there GNA went on the attack but it backfired, not once but twice.

A chip and chase saw the ball find Robbins at pace and he streaked away to score his first and a few minutes later he did it again when he took an intercept and ran 80m to demoralise the GNA boys.

Star... Jay Gallagher (centre) was the standout player over the two days for Glen Innes.

Working up a sweat: Dave Ballard conducts sprint training with the students

Key aspects of defence, attack, speed and agility were focused on during the three-hour session.

The outstanding opportunity provided an excellent base to launch the Glen Innes High School GATRL program for 2011.

The affiliation with the Dragons will see many opportunities of this nature evolve with plans to take students and coaching staff back to Wollongong before Easter.

This concept continues to grow and provide great opportunities for local boys in the Glen Innes community.

Later that evening Harron and Ballard also attended a Glen Innes Magpies training session to share some tips with the town's more senior players.

Group 11 prop Chris Butler stretches the Group 10 defence during their clash at Apex Oval on Saturday.

The round robin games between Group 11 and Group 10 development sides and the Far West Academy were played as a lead-up to the seniors clash between the visiting Fijian Residents and Group 11.

After Group 11 and Far West won their early games against Group 10, the scene was set for a close third game and a virtual ‘final.’ The two sides didn’t disappoint.

After the first period of play there were no points on the board.

But the deadlock was broken with a try to Group 11 replacement Steven Dinham who read Alex Bonham’s cross kick to the letter and with a great chase and pick up was able to cross. Bonham added the extras and Group 11 led 6-0.

Far West had an opportunity to draw level after Jacob Neill scored but the kick was waved away.

Despite their loss, Far West coach Col Wright was pleased with the performance of his players.

“There are some very good kids in the side and they played well today in both games,” he said.

“Having a game in Newcastle last weekend was certainly beneficial and the team work was good.

“On the back of that we’ll now look forward to good performances again in our upcoming Eastern Challenge which we hold in Nyngan each year.

“It’s on the weekend of April 22-23 and already we have confirmed teams coming from Parramatta, Penrith, Wests, Newcastle and Groups six, fourteen and eleven.

“Ideally, we would like a couple of more teams which we hope will happen in the next few weeks.”

The Far West Academy boys are from towns all around the western area and the performance by the team is a good indication of the talent that is on top.

This means also that the work put in by coaches such as Col Wright and Kyle Myers is paying off.

n Group 11 6 (Steve Dinham try, Alex Bonham goal) def Far West Academy 4 (Jacob Neill try).

The Bathurst venue played host to over 50 hopefuls last Wednesday, and two more trial games will be staged tonight in order to better serve coach Kip Maranda and the selection panel when it comes time to pick the side to take on Group 11 in March.

“The standard was pretty high last week I thought,” McDonald said.

“It looks like a lot of the boys have been doing a fair bit of work in the off-season and they did a good job despite the temperatures.

“It is up to each of the individuals how much preparation they do in the summer for things like this – if they want to go somewhere in the sport and get some work done it is up to them to do it themselves and it looks like a lot of them have.

“With that dangling carrot of representative football there, it doesn’t take a lot for most of them to get themselves up physically for this sort of thing, and mentally they just need to be ready and know that if they make Group 10, it is the first step towards representing Country.”

The players were split into four teams and played a match each consisting of a 30 minute and 20 minute ‘half,’ and will do likewise again tonight.

McDonald says that the idea behind the trial is to ensure that the selectors get a better look at potential players rather than simply picking them from their Pre-Season Knockout form.

“In years gone by they were picked off that form which, realistically, is a couple of 10 or 15- minute periods, and by the end of the year all these players emerge across Group 10 who slipped through the net because they might not have been standouts in those knockout games,” he said.

“This way the players get a chance to show their fitness – more of an opportunity to work their way into a game and in general it is just a more thorough method of picking the side.”

New CRL development officer in the north, Peter Stevens, at Greater Northern Academy training in Tamworth on Sunday. Photo: Rob Chappel

One of the first jobs was welcoming the Parramatta Eels to the area for the NRL One Community Carnival, followed by training with the Wests Greater Northern Academy on Sunday.

Stevens has been involved with the GNA and also helped outgoing development officer Jamie McCormack at coaching clinics and school visits for a couple of years.

But there is still a lot to learn, especially on the administration side of things.

“All the outdoor stuff I know well,” Stevens said.

“But it’s the indoor stuff that’s all new to me. I’ve got a bit to learn and it’s a process.

“It’s a real challenge for me. The good thing is it’s an enjoyable job.”

The role asks a lot, from encouraging young kids to play rugby league, developing the skills of those already involved, co-ordinating competitions and events and dealing with all of the formalities that the job brings.

Stevens is more used to his old job as a welder but has been involved in football as player and coach for years, mostly with the Wombats.

“Everyone you associate with is in football but it’s all walks of life,” Stevens said.

“It might be a coaching clinic or administration so you’re working with five-year-olds and 40-year-olds.

“You never know what the next job is or what the next phone call will be.”

This week’s big event is the GNA trip to Cessnock where the two sides will play games against the Hunter Academy and Balmain Tigers.

“It’s a really busy time of year with the academy finishing up,” Stevens said.

“It’s exciting for us because this is what the boys have worked for all summer when everyone else is at the pool.”

McCormack did the job for eight years and was highly regarded for his knowledge of the game and ability as an organiser.

“He’ll be missed,” Stevens said.

“I hope it’s in as good a shape when I leave it.”

Stevens will remain in Warialda for at least six months but will be a regular visitor to the CRL offices in Uralla and Tamworth in the course of his duties which take him right across the Group 4 and 19 areas.