It marked the second state title in recent times for the Dubbo primary school after success in the NSW Catholic Primary Schools Rugby 10s State Finals two weeks ago.

St Mary's won the Rugby League Challenge after defeating St Joseph's, Taree 34-4 in the final and it was a history-making effort with it being the first time the school has won this state-wide competition.

The team qualified for the tournament after winning the David Peachey Shield in June.

The 16 winning school teams from each rugby league region throughout NSW competed in the competition with St. Mary's, Western Region's representative, taking on teams from the Northern Rivers, North Coast, Mid North Coast, Hunter, Central Coast, Manly, Newcastle, New England, St. George, Parramatta, Riverina, Illawarra, Canterbury and Western Suburbs.

St Mary's defeated St Patrick's Gundagai, from the Riverina region, in the preliminary round -0. This was followed by a quarter-final against Christian Brothers Lewisham from the St George region.

The semi-finals and finals took place on August 27 at St Mary's Stadium in St Mary's.

The must have seemed like the perfect omen, with St Mary's playing at their namesake but they came up against a highly organised and professional outfit from St. Columbkille's Catholic School, Corrimal while the other semi-final was between Holy Trinity School Inverell (New England) and St. Joseph's Taree (Mid North Coast).

All four teams had been undefeated and were strong in both attack and defence with a number of highly skilled and experienced players.

The St Mary's-St Columbkille's match was a tough one with a number of big hits and fast breaks from both teams. St Mary's got out to a 12-0 half-time lead and from there they dominated and went on to book a grand final place with a 28-10 victory.

The final against St Joseph's, who won their semi 22-18, was another exciting and competitive game but the highly-rehearsed Dubbo team dominated in both attack and defence. The Taree players tried everything they could to break the Dubbo defence to no avail. At half-time St Mary's were up 18-4 and they stuck to their game plan, playing aggressive but professional football after the break and were tight in defence and dangerous in attack.

The finals score was 34-4 and the boys celebrated as they lifted the silverware.

A huge amount of credit goes to coach Paul Yeo with this win expected to be spoken about for years to come around Dubbo and the wider Bathurst Diocese.

St Mary's Challenge winning team: Joe Yeo, Jack Pay, Felix Connors, Fletcher Haycock, Will Johnston, Lachlan Townsend, Jye Wilson, Deakin Wilson, Latrell Fing, Braye Porter, Cameron Longhurst, Mitchell Martin, Connor Lindley, Harry Stimpson, Patrick Duffus, Austin Grey, Hugh Sienkiewicz and William Malloy.