Not just the Hoppers: League posts a new dawn in Aussie rules heartland

For the first time the town will have their own junior rugby league club, with plans to field at least three sides in the Group Nine junior competition this season.

Tom Besgrove has been one of the driving forces behind the expansion.

He's been thrilled with the feedback from the Coolamon community and the support.

"We're really starting to get up and going," Besgrove said.

"While we have a very strong culture of AFL, cricket and sport in the town, and rugby league was for some time as seniors only and never in the juniors, there's definitely been a lot of buy in from the community and it's looking like we will get three or four teams, which is great."

Coolamon had a social rugby league team in the 1980s and 1990s but Australian rules certainly dominates.

However now right next door to Kindra Park are the new rugby league grounds set to be the home of the Coolamon Raiders.

The Raiders are looking to have teams in the under 6s, 7s and 8s in their first season.

"The goal is definitely to have higher age groups but we're really keen on that age bracket as the data from what we put out into the community was they were the age groups we would get enough in," Besgrove said.

"We're also looking to run something for kids who are under five and for kids who are over nine we are looking to do something similar and still coach them up in the hope in the future we can get some more grades as well."

Around 100 kids took part in the session to help launch the club.

There was plenty of big rugby league names on hand to help the club take their next step with Brad Fittler, Paul Gallen and Luke Lewis helping set up their new goal posts as part of their Hogs For The Homeless Tour while there were current and former NRL and NRLW players visiting schools in Coolamon as part of the Roads To Region program.

Besgrove believes it really adds to what they are trying to achieve.

"For them to make the effort to come out here is huge and for a lot of kids getting that exposure to these guys, both past and present, is really awesome," he said.

"It's really good for our kids in the town."

After more than a decade on the road, Coolamon was a new stop on Fittler's tour this season.

He was impressed to see the town's rugby league development.

"It's been a highlight coming down here and seeing a new club," Fittler said.

"I've never ridden through Coolamon and it feels like I've been to most towns in NSW so it was a lovely surprise, it's a pretty and they're getting their footy team for the first time.

"It's great news and great to see a club having it's first season."