But unfortunately for St John’s Dubbo the result didn’t go in its favour in a classic decider.

St Stanislaus College five-eighth Riley Langfield scored four tries to help the Bathurst college come from behind twice to snatch a historic victory from St John’s, 26-24 at Parkes’ Jock Colley Field.

Down 10-0 in the first half and then 20-14 in the second period, Langfield’s heroics lifted his side to a 26-20 lead before a late St John’s try gave the Dubbo school a sniff at a draw.

Latrel Fing lined-up the conversion attempt from out wide, his left boot putting in a mighty effort - but the ball fell agonisingly short of the sailing over the crossbar.

Stannies coach Sam Coote rode the rollercoaster with his young side, one that’s a touch more knowledgeable about the rules of rugby union, rather than the 13-man-a-side code.

“They give you a bit of a heart attack,” Coote smiled, while the St John’s players were left disappointed having got so close.

“A lot of these boys have never played league before so every kick-off we let the ball bounce out thinking we’d get the ball back, like in rugby - that’s not the case.

“But it’s great to see. To get to the next stage, we definitely weren’t expecting that when we first signed up.”

Such a win is largely uncharted territory for the school.

“It’s the first league thing Stannies has won for a very, very long time,” Coote said.

“The boys will get up at assembly at school and everyone will give them a cheer, they’ll be loving it.”

While, in the under 15s, Red Bend was decisive in a 48-6 victory over St John’s, props Tom Phillips and Jack Hartwig the difference in the resounding win.

“They’re the two go forward guys and they laid the platform for the rest of the boys,” Red Bend coach Jared Demamiel said.

The victorious Forbes school is expecting a tough time of it during the next stage of the tournament though.

“Definitely, it’ll be a step up for the boys, but it’ll be a challenge,” he added.

While disappointing for St John’s there is no doubt the school and rugby league organiser Andy Haycock wold have been delighted with efforts.

Both of the school’s sides were hugely impressive when winning through the Dubbo leg of the Country Cup qualifiers last month and both contain some of the most exciting rugby league prospects in the city.