The round-of-16 matchup against Randwick was the furthest that a Wagga team has progressed in the Puma Cup for a number of years and coach Michael Dare was extremely proud of his squad for making it as far as they did.

"I think its the furthest we have progressed since Ron Anschuetz took his team to the semi-finals 16 years ago," Dare said.

"I thought we would just get stuck at either Albury or Griffith like we normally do, but to take those two down was pretty good.

"It's a credit to the guys for just working together."

Best players for Wagga High included year 10 student Dipkar Rai, midfielders Zac Steele and Aeham Osman, defender Tom Prescott and Anwar Kambar.

The matchup against Randwick was a tough one for Wagga High, with a mixed squad of players from years 9-12 taking on a much taller opponent.

Their journey in the knockout started in early April when they took on Kooringal High taking a 2-0 victory over their Wagga rival before clashing against a dangerous Young High School team.

They went into halftime nil-all against Young before exploding in the second half putting four goals into the back of the net and coming away with a 4-0 victory.

From there they took on Murrumbidgee Regional High School, coming away with another solid 2-1 win, before clinching the Riverina champions crown following a 2-1 victory over James Fallon High School.

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The team consists of a number of year 12 students who they will lose at the end of the year, but Dare is confident that there are a number of hungry players ready to fill the void.

"We are going to lose six or seven year 12's," he said.

"But our U15's team is looking strong, we did pretty well in the Bill Turner Trophy.

"So they will be looking to come up and fill the void of the players that have left."

Football Wagga development officer Liam Dedini said the result was great for local school football, with a Wagga side progressing so far in a state competition.

"It was exciting and the boys did well," Dedini said.

"I'm not sure exactly how long it has been, but I haven't seen a Wagga school getting that far for a fair while in that competition.

"Randwick were probably just the better team but Wagga High definitely could've won it.

"There were just a few things that didn't fall their way on the day."

What was particularly exciting for Dedini was the strength of local sides, with the caliber of the sides coming a long way over the past five years.

"It is just good to see football growing," he said.

"I look back when I was playing school soccer and there would be a few aussie rules and league boys playing.

"Look at the Wagga High team and there is eight or nine Wagga City Wanderers NPL players and a few local first grade players in there as well.

"It's exciting and there is a big difference when you have got a strong team in there consisting of NPL and first grade players which is probably why they went so far."

Wagga High's progression in the knockout competition has given them an ideal preparation for the upcoming Creed Shield, which they are hoping to win for the first time since 2017.

"They are really excited about that," Dare said.

"That's the one thing they wanted to do this year."

Dare admitted that the team's focus had mainly been on the Creed Shield, with their progression in the knockout competition coming as an added bonus.

The Creed Shield begins on July 25, with Wagga High placed in Pool B alongside Mount Austin High School, Wagga Wagga Christian College and The Riverina Anglican College.

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