GROUP Three Junior Rugby League has aligned Gloucester's junior draw to the senior Magpies this year.
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"This means they'll have a full day of footy in Gloucester, from under sevens through to first grade,'' Group Three Junior League president Warren Blissett said.
Mr Blissett said providing a full day of football in Gloucester has been an ambition for the junior league. He said this has been achieved by ensuring the junior sides play at home the same day as the senior team, which plays in the Newcastle and Hunter Northern Conference. Mr Blissett was heavily involved in the resurrection of junior rugby league in Gloucester. This started with come and try days in early 2022 and these sparked enough interest for the junior club to reform.
Gloucester was represented in the Group Three Junior League that year for the first time since 2015. Now the club continues to grow.
"We now have under sevens, nines, 11s and 13s at Gloucester, which is a great thing,'' Mr Blissett said.
Mr Blissett admitted that when the junior league first held come and try days in Gloucester he was hoping to get enough players for one mini league side.
"The first clinic I was expecting between eight to 10 to show up and we had 18," he said.
"The second one I thought around 30 would come and we got 42.''
The under sevens and nines played their first games of the season on Sunday, April 14 at a gala day held in Port Macquarie. Both age divisions are non-competitive.
The two older teams were to play in a gala at Taree on April 13, however, this was postponed when the fields were closed due to wet weather. The gala is now scheduled for this Saturday.
The junior league season will kickoff on Saturday, May 4.
The junior league is enjoying an 11 per cent growth in registrations going into the new season. Mr Blissett said the biggest growth area in the competition is in the under six and seven age groups.
"There was some controversy around the decision by the NSW Rugby League to limit the sixes to a full season of (league) tag with the sevens starting to tackle after about five weeks,'' he said.
"Some pundits said it would destroy the game.''
