Nonetheless, Magpies coach Andy Hillan said he considers the trip a complete success.

The Magpies ventured south to the 43rd annual Kiama Sevens for the first time in 2015, and while Hillan conceded his team did harbour dreams of bringing home the Coca Cola Country Cup, the competition was more about getting miles in his side’s legs leading into this year’s GrainCorp Cup southern division season.

With the Magpies gunning for a three-peat of GrainCorp Cup titles, Hillan said there was plenty of positive signs.

“I think we got what we wanted out of it,” Hillan said.

“Our season doesn’t start until late so we’re behind the eight ball there, and this was a way to boost the pre-season I guess. It was a really good hit out for the boys.”

Molong lost out 38-5 to Jindabyne in its first outing, before being trounced by Kiama A 48-0.

The Magpies finished the competition on a positive note though, thrashing Grenfell 28-0 in their final game - Molong didn’t qualify for the play-offs in the Country Cup, which Muswellbrook eventually won, defeating Kiama A 40-0 in the final.

“We certainly weren’t expecting Jindabyne and Kiama to have the teams they did,” Hillan laughed.

“They were very handy, and I imagine both sides will do pretty well in their own competitions. But we got a win over Grenfell, which was good.

“Our one-on-one tackling was something to work on I think, but we played pretty well, in particular Stuart Hobbs, Chris Hayes and Kyle Travis.”