A LOT of hard work through the pre-season has paid off at the weekend, as Dubbo City Junior Rugby League (DCJRL) held their official season launch and a host of junior Magpies took to the field for the first time.
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Formed earlier this year, the Dubbo City Magpies were born after waning numbers at the Eastridge Cobras and PCYC Dragons led to the collapse of both clubs at the end of 2015.
Parents and kids alike were thrilled when the players received their playing kits on Friday evening ahead of their club debuts on Saturday morning.
Club president Neil Milgate said it has been a long two or three months to get the club ready for this moment, and there's still a way to go.
"It has been exciting, it's been a lot of hard work," Milgate said.
"Attracting volunteers, people prepared to give up training days and weekends for sport. You've got to do your homework and encourage people to do their bit for their kids and the sport of rugby league.
"We've had to change the culture of two clubs and any new kids but that's how the club is going to survive in the modern day of rugby league."
The club has actually to turn away juniors in recent weeks, due to a Dubbo and District Junior Rugby League (DDJRL) rule limiting clubs to only 20 kids per age group.
Milgate said those kids had to go instead to other local clubs, but said it was great to see a high level of interest in the new club.
"We've had to knock kids back because we're only allowed a certain number of kids in the age groups," he said.
"In the smaller age groups there's a lot of kids wanting to play league."
The club is fielding 13 teams in the junior divisions this year, with two sides in under-6s, under-9s and under-10s and a single side in each of the under-7s, under-8s, under-11s, under-12s, under-13s, under-14s and under-15s.
"They're all turning up to training, we're getting good numbers at training which is exiting so we'll see what we can do with them," Milgate said.
"You see the smiles on the kids' faces.
"They're turning up to training with a different culture and we've still got a long way to go. Kids that have been with the clubs that have fallen over are still stuck in their ways and we've just got to be a bit harder and show them that they've got to change their ways to be in the sport.
"We're determined to make it successful. The people that we've attracted to be on the committee and be involved, they're there for the long haul and they're seeing at the moment the rewards of a lot of hard work and a lot of long nights getting kids registered.
"But the kids want to play footy and that's what we're there to do. It's a difficult job but... you'll see the rewards."