Rugby union
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THE Griffith Blacks have announced themselves as a regional rugby union powerhouse after three of the club's juniors made the under 15 ACT-Southern NSW squad for next season.
Zane Hogan, Apenisa Driti and Thomas Tyrrell cracked the final 25-player roster, while Matthew Parisotto and Ben Anau made it to the final selection stage.
Blacks under 15 coach Aled Francis said it was a huge achievement by the players and club.
"It's great for Griffith. It's the first time this has happened," he said.
"What's significant for us is that no one came near us as a club.
"The rest of the boys in the squad are mostly from all the private schools your St Edmunds, your Marists, your Daramalans
"There's only one other kid from the south coast in there.
"So in terms of regional areas, we're by far the best represented."
The ACT-Southern NSW side will play in next year's Junior Gold Cup, which will feature 24 teams from around Australia.
During the pre-season, the Blacks players will travel to Canberra once a fortnight and do the rest of their training in Griffith under the supervision of Francis.
"We managed to persuade them (ACT-Southern NSW officials) to let them do that, and it was a bit of a power play to be truthful," Francis said. "We showed them what we can do and what talent we've got.
"It's going to be full on for the boys, but you don't ignore chances like this."