They were some of the thrills a Hunter Valley Group 21 Junior Rugby League under-16 side got to experience when they ventured south of the border recently for a one-off rep match.

The team played the Victorian Thunderbolts at Gosch's Paddock outside AAMI Park - the home of the Storm.

While Group 21 lost 26-14, president Peter Emery said the trip - the third undertaken - was all about "experience" for the young boys.

"The whole trip; going away and going into camp," he said.

"It was only the weekend but they trained the first day, met the Storm players and watched them train, played the game on the Saturday, and then went to the footy and watched the Storm [versus] Newcastle game.

"To go into it like they did, and train and prepare for it, it's a massive experience to go down to Melbourne."

Emery said the Group 21 side comprised players mainly from Scone, Singleton, Aberdeen and Denman.

The boys trained for about two months in the lead-up to the match against the Thunderbolts, which Emery labelled a talented unit for an outfit from the relative rugby league outpost of Victoria.

"The team that we played last weekend, they actually won the country championships [last year]," he said.

"They have a winner from the north and a winner from the south, and then the north and south play each other... and Victoria basically wiped the floor with them in the 15's final last year.

"So, they do get a fair bit of football because they play into the southern NSW country area."

The Thunderbolts' victory put them ahead 2-1 in overall results against the Hunter Valley side, which won last year's fixture 8-6.

Scone Thoroughbreds' Ryan Clerk was player of the match, nominated by the opposition.