NSW Country have a few points to prove when the 2025 Buildcorp Australian Rugby Shield rolls into Newcastle this week.
For starters, their men's side - the NSW Country Cockatoos - are still smarting from a 31-19 defeat in last year's Shield final to bitter rivals Queensland Country.
Watch the 2025 Buildcorp Australian Rugby Shield live via rugby.com.au/videos.
Then there's the women - the NSW Country Corellas - who were unable to defend their 2023 Shield title after going down to eventual 2024 winners ACT & SNSW Kestrels during pool play.
Now, a new side - the Wildfires Development men's team - has emerged in NSW Country's traditional Hunter stronghold.
It sets the scene for a fiery 2025 ARS campaign from both NSW Country teams, with a men's Colts side also set to feature against NSW Suburban and Queensland Country throughout the week.
"The Hunter has traditionally been one of the strongest zones in NSW Country rugby and we're excited for that Wildfires clash," Cockatoos coach Dean Oxley told rugby.com.au.
"Then the last two years we’ve been beaten by QLD, and our players and staff are still hurting.
"Our goal is being a little more disciplined, because we can play with intensity but if we don’t play with smarts, we’ll be in trouble again.
"But the boys are certainly ready - there's a bit of unfinished business for us."
Corellas coach Matt Thomas is of a similar mindset.
"The girls that have been there before are hungry and getting back into that final is our goal," he told rugby.com.au.
"We deserved to come third last year but we’re hungry to get that final.
"In Country NSW rugby, the honour for playing for Country is the biggest honour of all and that’s what I’ve tried to drive with our girls.
"The biggest thing about country rugby is it’s a lifeline - through the drought years it's your lifeline and your family and your passion.
"So we're building our team off passion – we might not have the skill but if we’ve got the will, we can do anything.
2025 marks the first ARS held on NSW soil since the tournament's resurgence in 2022 and Oxley is determined to
"We’ve had men trying to make the Cockatoos for the past five years, it’s the ultimate goal in their football journey, the emotion of being selected, and then to wear the jumper with pride," Oxley said.
"There's so many zones our players have to get through to be selected and it's a huge honour to be a Cockatoo, especially for those who don't get the opportunities to play in the cities for whatever reason.
"Having Hunter involved is great but it's sort of taken away from our home advantage, so we’d like to demonstrate we’re the representative of NSW Country rugby this week."
The ARS kicks off Wednesday October 1 in Newcastle - tickets are available for purchase here and all games are livestreamed via rugby.com.au/videos.
