On Saturday, 18 sides took to the field in an incredible showing of passion and skill, and two teams, one men’s and one women’s, were crowned victors, although the day’s biggest winner was the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (WRHS).

With a crowd of approximately 2600, the atmosphere was electric and the community liaison officer for the WRHS, Danny Eather, said the event was a huge success.

“It was quite a big day and that matched with some really good competition on the field and the boys and girls put on a really awesome display of football,” he said.

The triumphant side in the men’s competition was the Bengalla Badgers, who squeezed over the line with a last-minute try and conversion against the Hunter Valley United Cobras to win by 18-12.

The other bragging rights belong to Hunter Hawkettes who won all three matches in the Women in Mining series.

The player of that competition was Julie Crane, who remarkably had never taken part in a rugby league game in her life before the weekend, but starred across the tournament including two tries in the final match.

Daniel Hoogerwerf was the men’s best, and will inevitably be parading that title around the workplace for the next 12 months.

Eather said it was a really enjoyable activity for everyone involved and the players love the chance to socialise without the constraints of the work place.

“The camaraderie on the day is very much on show, as soon as the whistle goes it’s battle stations and it’s competition, but after that the boys and girls are standing together having a soft drink or a beer,” he said.

Early estimations has the event at least matching the $80,000 they made last year, which is a huge effort and Eather was keen to thank the sponsors, the community and the players for making the day such a prestigious occasion on the Upper Hunter calendar.