The undoubted highlight was the Cyclones 13 and under boys taking out the national title, with the side featuring Dubbo young guns Tom Coady, Paddy Nelson and Anthony Atlee while fellow locals Dan French and Bailey Edmunds were coach and assistant coach.

The 13s boys lost just one match the entire campaign at Mackay, a last-ball defeat to NSW Blues early in the campaign before getting revenge on their city rivals in both the major semi-final and grand final to lift the shield.

Dubbo players also impressed elsewhere, with Brock Larance and Mitch Lincoln starring in a 15s boys side coached by Don Skinner and his assistant Adlai Shipp while Greg King mentored the Cyclones 17s side which featured Tom Atlee and Thomas Nelson.

The Atlee family was well represented, with youngster Emily also playing in the 14s girls Cyclones outfit.

Topping off the success, Coady, Larance and Atlee were all named in their respective All Stars sides in their respective age groups while Dan French was named All Star coach of the 13s boys.

Coady, who scored the most runs of any player at the tournament, and Larance, whose nine sevens were more than any other batsman across all age groups, were also named as Players of the Series in the 13s and 15s respectively.

“They enjoy the challenge of going away to Nationals each year and as a club we’re doing very well,” French said of Dubbo indoor, before speaking about his Cyclones 13s side.

“The boys deserved the win. They dominated all week and only had minor fault in the round games.

“Most of the boys have played for a number of years. For the three Dubbo boys, this was their fourth year at Nationals in the 13s so they deserve it after the hard work for a few years.”

French admitted he went to the Nationals with high hopes, having seen the talent and development within his young squad.

And the side delivered, winning six of its 11 matches by more than 50 runs, with two margins exceeding 130 runs.

“They met the expectation but I’ve been around plenty of teams that you expect to do well and don’t,” French said.

Coady starred for the Cyclones, scoring 274 runs in the title win while Nelson took an impressive 18 wickets, the second best result for any bowler at Mackay.

Anthony Atlee was a solid contributor all campaign while Coady capped off his stellar efforts with a man of the match display in the final.

He made 19 runs in a 36-run opening skin with Nelson as the Cyclones posted 128 while he then claimed a crucial 2/-1 with the ball to help his side to a convincing 49-run win in the decider.

The 15s boys Cyclones and the 14s girls both finished third while the 17 girls claimed fourth and the 17s boys finished sixth.