Seymour district junior cricketers got a chance to test their mettle against the best in the region in last week's Northern Rivers Junior Cricket Week.
Kicking off the week last Monday, Seymour District Cricket Association's under-15s started off the four-day tournament with a win, beating Goulburn Murray Cricket at Cooma Recreation Reserve.
Building a solid defence of 119, it was Seymour's attack which ultimately did the job, dismissing GMC for 56 in just 34.4 overs.
Riley Nolan (3-6), Kyle McNicholas (2-5) and Sam Manchester (2-13) all impressed, while wicketkeeper Cooper Dulson was kept on his toes with two catches.
Dropping their only game of the week on the Tuesday, the under-15s couldn't contend with Bendigo's strike rate - although this was later rectified in Seymour's grand final win over the same team.
Seymour made only 96 at the crease in that second game, which Bendigo comfortably chased down in just under 24 overs.
In its final regular game of the week, another stellar bowling spell saw Seymour outplay Shepparton by 49 runs.
Ollie Munro led the way with the bat, his 35-run outing helping his team reach 134.
It was then left to the bowlers to finish the job, with Xavier Arandt (3-8), McNicholas (2-6), Dundon (2-3) and Nolan (2-25) all in ripping form.
Ben Geldart was also impressive with two catches.
Despite falling a game short in the grand final, Seymour's under-13s celebrated an undefeated reign in regular play.
Playing at Avenel on the Monday, Seymour easily beat Shepparton by six wickets in its first game of the week.
Batting first, Seymour reached 4-138, with Callum Micallef unbeaten on 41 and Rory Kennedy impressing with 28.
Turning its attention to attack, Seymour dismissed Shepparton for 78 in the space of 30 overs, with Darcy McNicholas (4-14) the star and Luke Wal and Zac Osmond also right on line with three wickets apiece.
In its second match, Seymour held on for a thrilling six run win over Goulburn Murray Cricket.
Micallef (55) and Kennedy (38) were again on fire with the bat, helping the side reach 4-149.
Later on, Seymour's attack was able to hold on for the win in the field, as GMC finished just short on 7-143.
Osmond finished with a team-high 2-18 and Max Waixel was effective with 1-10 from his four overs, while Micallef and Kennedy both snared run-outs.
In game three, Seymour beat its second Shepparton team for the week, with Kennedy partnering with Jabe Brown for an 81-run opening-wicket stand.
Kennedy (42 not out) and Brown (41 from 41) made up the bulk of the runs, while Osmond (3-20) led the dismissal of Shepparton for 100, 80 runs short of Seymour's stand.
Incredibly, nine Seymour players took a catch in this game, with Waixel getting his hands on two.
The under-17s had a tougher week on field, unable to break through for a maiden win in six T20 matches.
The Monday saw Seymour lose its two clashes with Upper Loddon Cricket by five runs and two wickets respectively.
Nic Quigg was Seymour's best batsman on the day, topping the scoring in both games with his 20 and 12-run efforts, while Banjo Fitzpatrick was strong in attack, taking 5-19 across the two matches.
Backing up the next day, Seymour had to contend with a strong Bendigo outfit, which would later go on to win the final over Shepparton.
With Bendigo comfortably chasing Seymour's total in record time, Jacob Bourke (29 in game one) and Josh Speechley (13 in game two) proved to be Seymour's best batsmen, while Regan Gardner took three wickets for the day.
On the final day of play, Seymour continued to struggle to break through for a winning result over Goulburn Murray Cricket, although there continued to be strong individual efforts among the team.
Leo Halford took the opening three wickets of game one for a return of 15 runs, while Bourke was strong at the crease with 44 runs from 54 deliveries.
In game two, Stuart Partridge was superb in the field, picking up three catches and a run-out, while Austen Ross, Brodie Stray and Fitzpatrick all finished with two wickets each.