Not bad for a side which was just hoping to avoid relegation.

With a changing format in 2016 - the three divisions will be revamped, to have as close to an equal number of teams as possible - Orange faced the added pressure of knowing an extra two sides would be relegated to division three for next year's tournament.

That meant Shea's troops had to avoid coming eighth or lower. They did that easily, even qualifying for the semi-final, but falling to a dominant Goulburn side to ultimately claim fourth.

"The boys performed really well," Shea said via Facebook.

"Three teams are actually going down because (of the) reshuffle ... (so we) will avoid relegation."

Orange opened its campaign with a strong 5-2 victory over Southern Highlands on Friday morning, with Connor Morris bagging a hat-trick.

From there, a 5-all draw against Tamworth (2) had Orange poised for an assault on pool A's top spot, but a 6-2 loss to Manning Valley in their third game left Shea's troops with a fight to finish second.

Although a sizable loss, Orange's defensive effort was notable in the penultimate preliminary clash - the game was one of just two clashes in which Manning Valley scored less than nine goals.

A 2-0 win over Newcastle sewed up second spot for Orange, and a semi-final berth against Goulburn, the top qualifiers in division two pool B, with the winner to progress to the final.

Despite heading in reasonably confident, Orange was thumped in the sudden death playoff, going down 10-1 to finish its campaign.