Injuries and unavailability wreaked havoc on Orange’s division four campaign, with the young outfit forced to play Sunday’s decider with just seven players.

Considering they took on a Cowra side which destroyed them by 28 goals in the preliminary rounds and were playing in an age group above their own, Rudd described the 36-17 loss in the decider as a “very pleasing, and massive effort”.

“They are actually an under 14 team so to make the final, close the gap on Cowra’s under 15s by so much and come second is a result we’re very happy with,” he said.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t be there for the final, but I’m told all the players played very, very well. We had four of our regular players out, so they only had seven on the day. I’d hate to single out anyone because I’ve been told all the players really stood up in that game.”

Rudd praised Cowra, labelling the side “deserved winners” after it went through the competition undefeated.

“By rights, they should have won it and they did,” he said.

“They’re an under 15 team and they’re quite strong. I’m very, very happy with the effort from my team.”

Orange’s only loss in the preliminary stage was to Cowra (40-12) which relegated the Thunder to second. Orange then defeated Condobolin in a tight semi-final, winning 28-25, before falling at the final hurdle.

Similarly to their division four counterparts, Orange’s division three side was playing well above its weight. Orange fielded its under 15 State Age Championship team in division three, an under 17 competition, with one eye on continued development.

The age difference didn’t matter though, with Orange taking out the title undefeated. After cruising through the preliminary rounds without a loss, Orange flogged Cowra 41-17 in the final four, before trumping Bathurst in a tight grand final 28-21.