The school hasn’t lifted the Western trophy since 2010, and the seven year gap makes the win all the sweeter.

The glory came after a tight win over Orange school, Calare, at the Glen Willow hosted decider.

In what ended up being a low scoring game, a dummy from Jake Grocott put the first points on the board, and Mudgee took a tight 4-0 lead into the sheds at half time.

Calare’s response in the second half was a long-range try that was converted, putting the visitors two points up on the scoreboard.

The game came down to a series of rampaging hit-ups from Jacob Noel to earn strong field position, before Jesse Bodiam score late.

The try was converted to put Mudgee in the driver’s seat for an eventual 10-6 victory in front of the Mudgee Public supporters in the stands.

The competition began with 37 teams – including schools as far as Bourke, Lithgow and West Wyalong – involved in the battle, and the stakes were high for every school in the sudden death elimination tournament.

Mudgee Public now have the task of representing the Western Zone in the next stage of the competition, with their first challenge coming in the form of the yet-to-be-decided Riverina Zone title-winner.

It will be an away fixture for the Western champs, and so Mudgee Public will head south in the coming week, with just three games between them and the NSW crown.