STANDING in the dressing room, settling those last minute nerves, then running out onto a field lit up under the dark night sky as spectators clap and cheer.
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It's something senior players often enjoy during the season, but when the St Pat's Junior Rugby League minis sides got their chance to do so the smiles were huge.
Last Friday night at Jack Arrow Oval the youngest Saints - the under 6s, under 7s, under 8s and under 9s - got the special experience.
They did their pre-game drills and warm ups as the crowd built, they got to enjoy running out of the sheds through a tunnel of spectators, then they engaged in a game against their Pat's club-mates.
"It has been going the past couple of years, Pat's have been trying to give each team a night game just to give the kids some experience playing under lights like the NRL on TV," St Pat's minis coordinator Justin Williams said.
"They also get to run out from the sheds with a big line up of parents, that just gives them that little buzz."
During the games the young Saints showcased some slick skills. There were brilliant cover tackles, breakaway tries and some smart off-loads.
They also got the special experience of being able to line up for a conversion following a try.
"We set up posts for them all so they can kick for goal. They don't normally get to kick for goal, so we let them have a kick and have a bit of fun with it," Williams said.
"From all reports they loved it, our little under 6s, they kicked out of their hands just so they could have a good crack at it.
"But asking a few of them, their favourite thing was running out of the sheds through the big line of parents. They all loved that, they thought it was the best part of the night."
Once the games were done there was another unique moment at Jack Arrow Oval for the minis. The scoreboard became a move screen.
"This was the first time we've done this with the movie on afterward, we had a good numbers around in the grandstand afterwards and watch the movie," Williams said.
"We had some raffles, the kids all got a free sausage, the parents were able to have a beer in the clubhouse.
"It was just great to see them out there and having some fun even in the cold, it didn't worry them once they were out there running around. There was a frost on the pads when I was taking them off after, so that fact that all the kids still ran around and had a great time, yeah it was good to see."
This Saturday Group 10 Junior Rugby League will stage a minis day at Eglinton's Cubis Oval. Following that there will be three more rounds to close out the season.
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