Bathurst and Dubbo schools progress to Sydney after Paul Kelly Cup regional finals

The tournament's regional finals series landed in Orange on Friday after the previous week's success when the competition was hosted in the town for the first time.

For AFL Central West competition & development coordinator Casey White, it was great to see Orange's involvement in the Paul Kelly Cup come full circle.

"I think it shows footy is in a really good place, it's going from strength to strength ... the kids that have now experienced two gala days have continued to improve as the day went on," he said.

White added the competition has now provided students and teachers with an understanding of AFL and how much of a future it has in the region.

"I think everyone loves it but for the teachers they want to see a professionally run environment where the kids are supported and even coached during the matches," he said.

"We've provided what I think is one of the best experiences in the region, it shows that I think AFL can be considered the number one sports provider in our region and we just need to keep working really hard to keep that mantle so schools keep coming back."

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In the girls competition, Bathurst's Cathedral Catholic Primary School and Holy Family Kelso Catholic Primary School came away undefeated and sealed their places at Sydney for the next level of competition.

Dubbo's St Mary's Catholic Primary School and St Pius X Catholic Primary School were the winners in the boys, and will also travel to Sydney.

However, the biggest success story was Canowindra Public School in the girls division.

After a shaky start with three early losses, the side came home strong to win 37-13 in round four against St Mary's, Orange before a close 9-7 victory against Orana Heights.

White said the success of a small town school can only be a positive for the sport.

"It's incredible to have schools like that punching above their weight," he said.

"(They're a) tiny town, but to make it to a regional final and be very close to progressing through to the next level shows footy can grow and be successful anywhere.

"All we need is a couple of passionate teachers and a group of enthusiastic kids, it doesn't matter if they haven't played before they can have a great experience and play really well.

"It's exciting for Canowindra to get this far and hopefully in a couple years we see a few more small schools doing really well."

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