Dindima, predominantly made up of Wagga players, made the semi-final stage of the NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout before bowing out to eventual winners South Coast Black Cockatoos.

Dindima went down 44-20, before the Cockatoos defeated Griffith Three Ways United 40-12 in the final to win the Knockout, which was held at the Central Coast over the long weekend.

Little was extremely proud of Dindima's performance over the three days.

"It was a bit disappointing our performance in losing the semi but I was so proud of our effort to get there," Little said.

"People don't understand how big of an effort it is to get through to the last day. The other three teams in the semis were full of NRL stars, we were the last of the local community sides and I'm very proud of our team."

Cronulla star Andrew Fifita captained Griffith Three Ways United, while Josh Addo-Carr was in action for Waterloo Storm.

Dindima was eliminated in the opening round of last year's knockout and Little heaped praise on the team's youth for leading the revival at this year's event.

"We were very young and I'm really, really proud of the young boys. We were looking to build for the future and our boys were massive over the weekend," Little said.

"It's tough footy. You get hit in the head a lot and a lot of younger guys can go into hiding but our guys kept turning up and we nearly got there.

"You couldn't fault their effort."

Captain-coach Clifford Morris led the charge for Dindima over the weekend, while Ben Schreiber and Steven Tracey were others to shine.

With Dindima defeating Narrandera Wiradjuri Warriors to make it through to the semi-finals, it meant that three of the final eight teams at the knockout hailed from the Riverina.

Little said the performance of all three teams was a strong sign for rugby league in the region.

"There is 70-odd teams that go to the knockout so to have three from the Riverina in the last few is a massive effort, it's unreal," he said.

"Narrandera made it to the quarter finals, we got beat in the semis and then Griffith playing in the final, it's great for the Riverina."

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