Vital stats: 209 teams, 270 referees, 10,000 players, families and supporters!

Dubbo’s Lady Cutler Riverbank cricket ovals were transformed into 26 touch fields, complete with a showcase No 1 oval which live-streamed matches over last Friday's, Saturday,'s and Sunday’s finals of the NSW Touch Junior State Cup Northern Conferences for ages Under 10s to Under 18s.

Dubbo Touch competed in all nine age groups (male and female) while teams from Wellington, Mudgee, Orange, and Bathurst competed alongside teams from north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge all the way to the Queensland border.

Indeed, I was fortunate enough to be on air with the ABC when a history-making northern beaches local derby was fought-out between North Sydney Bears and the Hornsby Wolves.

Dubbo qualified all teams in the finals play-offs, with the three youngest eventually eliminated in the semi-finals. They were all just a touch shy of the northern State Grand Finals!

Results Northern NSW State Age Touch Championships were:

  • Under 10 Girls — Doyalson defeated Northern Beaches 3-0
  • Under 10 Boys — Northern Beaches defeated Manly 6-3
  • Under 12 Boys — Northern Beaches defeated Nelson Bay 11-4
  • Under 14 Girls — Maitland defeated Ballina 8-3
  • Under 14 Boys — Wallsend defeated Northern Beaches 13-8
  • Under 16 Girls — Northern Beaches defeated Newcastle 12-5
  • Under 18 Girls — Manly defeated Central Coast 13-10
  • Under 18 Boys — Manly defeated Maitland 9-4

Dean Russell, Touch NSW CEO said of the Tournament, “We’ve been here for three years now, we’ve got one more year on our current contract with Dubbo. They’ve looked after us every year with the weather and the fields absolutely magnificent in the way they’ve been presented.

"The panorama is majestic! We take our hats off to Dubbo Touch and the Council. Each year, we’ve been here we’ve been presented with pristine fields, not just for the main showcase field, but across all 26 spread along Bligh and Macquarie Streets. It’s a really great sight and the playing surfaces are first-class. 

"All these big marquees were here when we arrived early in the week, and it was such a buzz watching volunteers, Council and hire firms bringing this almost-vacant venue to life. They had to bring in all the fences, the scoreboards, build a broadcasting tower and, of course, ensure there were facilities for a huge crowd. Seamless!

"Regional NSW loves their sport and its proven to us there is so much buy-in, not just from the Touch Association and Council, but the community as a whole.

"Local businesses and vendors at the grounds gain the benefits, as do those in the town as 10,000 people move to retail shops and other local recreational and tourist attractions.

"We structure our comp to have morning and afternoon sessions, so families can have a look around and add to the local economy. The benefits are to the whole community!"

Dean Russell said of the Volunteers

"Dubbo Touch does an amazing job motivating the parents and supporters to form a volunteer workforce to run the canteens, ensure all teams are catered for and to keep water and ice available when needed.

"They organised run-around vehicles to transport equipment and Touch NSW staff around the grounds and get them back to their accommodation each night and bring them down each morning. It's a massive event and a huge credit to everyone involved who is so generous with their time."

Dean Russell said of the Players

"Players were stretching to the vibes blasting out from boom boxes. Dean and I reflected on how different it was to when we started playing touch footy 50 years ago.

“I remember my first game when I was 16. Just got out of the car, barefoot, grabbed a ball and just started running around! I was talking to one of the legends of our sport the other day, Mark Boland and we agreed it was good we played then — it’s too fast and skilfull these days!

"And you can see why other sports like league, union, AFL basketball and netball are looking to Touch as a feeder for their higher level semi=professional sports."

"One of the beauties of our sport is that this is a State level event. This is replicated across 130 locations across NSW at grassroots level. 

"One of the great features of Touch is it attracts people of all ages. We have Mixed Touch and mums, dads, kids and grandkids are playing together — representative sport in social settings.

"Referees have pathways too. We have six badge levels — shortly to be consolidated into four — so young and more mature are able to pursue their dreams through local, regions, country, state, national and onto international levels.

Nic Grose — President Dubbo Touch Association

Nic made her debut for Australia in the Over 40s at the World Cup in Birmingham, England last year and also coached the Dubbo 12s side.

“I never ever thought I would play for my country. It was amazing to be given an opportunity in my 40s.

"Touch brings camaraderie to a school and community environment as everyone has a place in the team. It is unbelievable to watch as the players and their siblings come together and are so supportive and encouraging.

"Participating and watching others helps the kids to learn skills. 

"It is especially satisfying when the young ones are cheering their older siblings and parents with a range of health benefits.

“It’s definitely evolved. There’s more emphasis on fitness and preparation. There’s so much sports science these days, more knowledge on how we should prepare, nutrition and hydration and how we should do our warm-ups and recoveries.

"Dubbo Touch is celebrating 50 years. November 7 is the anniversary — seven-a-side, no shoes, chip-and-chase kicking.

"Over 1000 juniors at the end of our summer comp, and those numbers are growing.

"Dubbo has been super-amazing and everyone just gets in and pulls together. We’ve learned a lot over the first three years and who knows, we might even become a more permanent fixture on the Touch NSW calendar!"

Maddi Drew (Crowe) — Australian Emus star

"I’ve been to two World Cups; lucky enough to have brought home gold medals with the Emus from both.

"Australia has really developed the skill of the sport. It’s fast and furious and very inclusive so everyone can find their place. It is a special opportunity for women in sport and our Emus are up their with the Matilda's, Opals and our cricketers as elite athletes.

"The game has changed from 7–10 players and the speed of execution. Now 12–14 players per team for the State Cup, plus physios, masseurs and team managers as well as first-aiders."