Mudgee Public School boys touch side one of the best in the state

Competing at the NSW Primary Schools Sports Association (PSSA) finals day on Monday, Mudgee Public finished in the top four of the competition - falling one game short of the grand final.

It was an outstanding achievement by the school considering there were 426 boys' teams who took part in the statewide knockout competition, which began in May.

The eight regional winners progressed to the finals day in Sydney with the chance to become state champions.

But it was a heartbreaking loss that denied Mudgee Public the chance to write themselves into the history books.

"We lost the semi-final in a three-on-three drop-off," Mudgee Public teacher Ben Harris said.

"It was a cruel way to bow out, but the school is incredibly proud of these boys."

Mudgee Public played their quarter-final match against North Coast winners Tweed Heads Public School in which the western side enjoyed a hard-fought 8-4 win.

It pitted Mudgee Public up against Sydney North champions Narraweena Public School of the northern beaches in the semi-final.

Mudgee Public got out to a 2-0 lead before Narraweena fought back to make it 2-2 at half-time.

Each team produced a try in the second half and were locked up 3-3 at full-time.

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Both teams went down to four players and played a further two minutes as per the drop-off rules but after the time elapsed, scores remained levelled.

Teams dropped another player from the field and the game was now under "next try wins" rules, Narraweena were the ones to be celebrating by scoring the sought-after try to claim a 4-3 victory.

"Everyone was just gutted. Really, really gutted.," Harris said.

"But it doesn't take away the fact how well the team played throughout the entire competition.

"On paper we finished in the top four, but we are saying we came third because we lost the semi-final in a drop-off to the eventual state winners.

"We had fantastic support throughout the campaign from the school, parents, Liz Channon has been a huge help and the players themselves have been incredible.

"We might not have become state champions but overall it was a successful competition for the team."