Wollongong returned from the tournament with the Ron Andrews Shield, the trophy awarded to the best performing country touch association at the competition. 

“It’s the first time Wollongong has won it,” Robinson said. “It’s an added bonus, obviously not the main reason that we went up there, but as far as a club it’s always good to bring something home. It means we’re doing a lot of things right and means the club’s heading in the right direction.”

Three Wollongong teams travelled up to Port Macquarie for the tournament where they competed against the state’s best players.

“We didn’t come home with any crowns, but as far as moving forward it was a good result and everyone came away having had a good tournament.”

Both the men’s premier division and men’s second division teams qualified for the quarter finals. The premier division team fell to Penrith in extra time, while the second division team lost 8-6 to eventual winners Parramatta. The women’s premier division team also performed well, finishing in equal fifth place.

With the sport growing in the region, Robinson is hoping to double the number of teams competing at next year’s State Cup. 

“We’re hoping to have a women’s and men’s under 20s team and hoping to grow the club so we have five to six teams by the time next year comes around.”