THE Greater Northern Tigers under-16 league tag team fell one step short of CRL Country Championships glory at the weekend.
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After soaring through the northern pool undefeated, the Tigers - featuring Merriwa's Mackenzie Blackadder; Muswellbrook's Heidi Richards, Tobey Stewart and Matilda Jones; Scone's Lara Hedley, Emily Watts and Tyla Brown; and Singleton's Caitlan Warren, Ruby Bennett and Jules Kirkpatrick - tackled the Greater Southern Stars in Saturday's decider in Wyong.
They were beaten 16-6 in the showdown and Greater Northern coach Kate McCulloch said discipline and ball control was costly.
"The game was played quick at times but a high penalty count against us and too many errors meant we were not able to get a roll on like we did in the northern championships," she explained.
"Two disallowed tries and a spilled try in the first-half did us no favours."
This year is the first time an under-16 league tag Country Championship has been contested, making it a huge step up for all involved.
Although they missed out on the trophy, McCulloch was rapt to be involved in the competition's inaugural season and praised the young squad.
"Despite going down, our girls gave it all they had and played with enthusiasm and confidence until the final whistle," she said.
"I'm not going to say their performance was perfect but it was definitely to a high standard and the girls did themselves proud.
"I'd love the chance to continue working with them at some point further down the track."
In the opens final, the Central Coast Roosters won their third straight title with a 13-12 defeat of Greater Southern.
Under-16s: Greater Southern Region 16 (K Bolz, L Eggleton, T Yeo, C Bush tries) def. Greater Northern Tigers 6 (M Jones try; T Stewart goal)
Opens: Central Coast Roosters 13 (S Sharp, J Kelleher tries; H Buchanan 2 goals, J Kelleher field goal) def. Greater Southern Stars 12 (A Glasson, P Favelle tries; T Atfield 2 goals)