Seems an outrageous sentiment.

Especially when you consider the ilk of that Oberon Tigers line-up that collectively won 10 Group 10 premierships in 11 years.

But hold the thought for a second.

Sometimes when these arguments rear their heads it's easy to get swept up in the nostalgia, you only have to look at the caps the two blues champions had made up for their 10-year anniversary to see that.

The embroidery on the hats read: 'the older we get, the better we were'.

But this 1999 team was special. Really special.

And you only have to look at the side they played in the decider to see why.

Darren Higgins (Cronulla, Western Reds), William 'Bubba' Kennedy (Balmain), Bert Gordon (St George), Cecil Heron (St George), Chris McPherson (Balmain) and Jamie Kelso (Balmain, South Sydney) all played NRL footy and in 1999 all six played for Blayney.

You can throw in the mid-season addition of Paul Sironen, too, the NSW and Australian wrecking ball apparently "flown in on game days", if you ask Hawks centre Jamie Corcoran.

Not that that mattered to Hawks. While the Bears team of 1999 was the very definition of star-studded, the two blues boys, young and old, knew they were on to a winner.

Hawks won the 1999 minor premiership, undefeated, and despite losing the major semi-final at Wade Park bounced back with a commanding 30-16 victory over Blayney at King George Oval in the grand final, that two blues side securing its piece of history as the first Hawks team to lift Group 10's most coveted prize.

It'll go down as the best Hawks side in history. But is it the best in Group 10? Corcoran says it's up there.

"I would imagine. It was a crack team," he said.

"We had a lot of speed, experience where we needed it and enthusiastic local talent."

Corcoran ended up at Hawks after a phone call with former Balmain teammate Paul Upfield, 'Olly' as he was known linking with the two blues to captain-coach in 1999.

He lured Corcoran, a Gunnnedah boy looking to return to the country, to Hawks on the back of two promises.

"He said I'd play with best hooker I've ever played with and fastest winger I've seen. I didn't know if that would be right ... but it was," Corcoran said.

Jamy Forbes was the crafty No.9 Upfield was referring too while the "fastest winger" he mentioned was, of course, Wise Kativerata.

The crafty No.9 won Country player of the year while playing at Cessnock in 1995 and trained with the Johns boys and Danny Buderus in the Knights system before becoming one of the bush's best rakes.

"Forbes is best hooker I've played with and I was lucky enough to play with Benny Elias," Corcoran added.

While the Fijian flier scored 29 tries for the two blues throughout their undefeated minor premiership campaign and then bagged four more in the finals, including three in the grand final at Blayney, and was named player of the grand final - a nod that now awards the Dave Scott Medal.

Throw in Upfield, James Carrack and Corcoran in the centres and Dave Chapman as part of the squad, although he missed half of 1999 with an Achilles rupture, and there was a stack of NRL-equivalent experience in the Hawks side, too, experience that guided the club to its best year in Group 10.

But it's the young blokes in the team that stood out for Corcoran.

"They were a really talented young group of boys. I was privileged enough to get to come and play with them," he added.

"With Siro, I'd say JD (then Blayney coach John Davis) waved a carrot in front of him and he came out to have a run. But I don't think he realised just how many tough young players there were in the country."

Halfback Wayne Hill was one of those young guys.

Along with the likes of Adam Shepherd, Murray Forrester, Luke Faul and Daniel Waters, Hill helped the club's under 18s side to titles in 1995 and 1996. Twin premierships you could argue saved the club from oblivion.

"Jeff Fallon was instrumental in keeping the club together in 95 and 96," Hill begun.

"Hawks was looking at folding in 95 and and Jeff went up to the under 18s coach, my old man John, and told him the predicament we were in, said it looked like we were folding, but asked if the 18s boys were any good first.

"Dad said 'I think we can win (the under 18s) comp' ... we did both years."

Those players then filtered into the Hawks top grade and, with additions Fallon made year on year leading into 1999, took out the big prize that same year.

"As a young kid from Orange, (1999) was really good to be part of and being that first premiership team for the club is something I'll remember forever," Hill added.

"No one can take that away from us and it's a nice piece of history to have."

This weekend the side will celebrate its 20-year reunion at Wade Park, when the two blues host cross-city rivals Orange CYMS.

Hill is anticipating nearly the entire squad to be there for the local derby this weekend and, as the old caps they wore at the last reunion said, 'the older we get, the better we were'. "It'll be like old times again," Hill said.

"Olly worked hard on culture and bond. Us young fellas looked up to old guys. They acted as great mentors and great mates."

Corcoran said he was looking forward to Sunday's game, with the 2019 Hawks currently in a three-way share of the Group 10 lead.

"I think (president Mark Johnston) is doing an awesome job," he said.

"It's good to see the club get back to where it was years ago. It takes a lot of work, a lot of effort by volunteers, effort by parents and a full team effort to get clubs up to that.

"CYMS has been through the glory days, and that took a lot of hard work. I'd be great to see both clubs back on top and in grand final."