Six of the association's rep sides were in action at Mudgee over the weekend as part of the NSW Country Championships.

The sides were able to blow a few cobwebs out and experience some valuable match time alongside each other ahead of the state tournament in early December.

Dubbo's open men's side lost the final of their division 7-5 to Orange and coach Harry West said they weren't too phased by the loss.

"The boys went alright, we just poked along because we had a few new blokes," he said.

"We thought we'd go out there and play this competition and treat it like a bit of a snotty nose really. We just wanted to blow all the crap out and prepare for the State Cup.

"Some of the boys didn't realise how hard it can be, they now know that training is important to play at that level."

Dubbo trailed early on in the final, taking on Orange who happened to be the only other team in their division.

West's side hit the lead, going up 3-1 at one point before Orange fought their way back.

While they may not have been dubbed Country Champions, West said his group will be better for the weekend's efforts.

"You've got to actually play, you can train as much as you want but until you actually get out there on the field to play you don't realise how somewhat unfit you are," he said.

"When you are unfit it creates mental fatigue and from there you make mistakes, getting out on the park is the best thing for you especially when you have these younger ones.

"They are keen and want to run, they've got the fitness but sometimes you need a bit of experience behind you to know why you are running."

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The likes of West and Timmy Boney have played a lot of representative touch football and now are combining to help the next generation.

"We've got a few good ones coming through, Rory Madden is a great strike player," West said.

"He's got good speed and footwork, he can read the game well. He just has a few outside things that get in his head which impacts his game.

"Our wingers did a good job, we only had two of them and they played all six games. They had no subs so they had six games for 30 minutes."

A character off the field, Madden scored a length-of-the-field intercept try, showing his speed to all of those in attendance and watching at home.

As impressive as he was, Madden still has a few things to work on West believes.

"Rory will be a player to watch in time to come, hopefully, he doesn't get caught up in other stuff," he said.

"If you get the ball in his hands and get him going, he will be the one to watch in a couple of years.

"Tristan Delaney was good, he is a bit more eyes up. He is like your backyard footy player, Joe Kaniuku is a great winger.

"Matt Dawson is textbook, he'll do everything. You know what you are going to get with him but then again he will pull something out of the hat when it comes time."

Meanwhile, Dubbo's senior women's side lost 5-1 to Wollongong in their final while the women's opens, men's 20s, men's 50s and men's seniors all failed to make the finals.

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