With the Group 19 junior rugby league season going ahead, the Inverell Minor League Hawks have begun preparations for kick off in July.
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"The kids are stoked. They're all keen as mustard," he said.
"We're pretty much full in every team. I think it's about 190 kids across all teams.
"We've got two under 6s teams and two under 8s teams which we haven't had for a few years."
O'Brien said they've had to make some changes to their training sessions with COVID-19 restrictions still in place.
"We've got to adhere to the NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) guidelines which up until today was less than 20 per group," he said.
"As of today we can train with our full numbers. We've just been following their guidelines."
COVID-19 has had a large financial impact on the club but O'Brien said its sponsors have been a big help throughout the lockdown period.
NSWRL are hoping to get up to 500 people able to attend game days, with dressing sheds not able to be used but the canteen still able to operate.
"The main thing is trying to maximise game time for the kids in the shortened season," O'Brien said.
The season will kick off on July 18 and will run until late September.
"We normally finish early September but we're going to try and wack on a few more weeks to get the kids more football," O'Brien said.
Inverell will face Glen Innes in the opening round of the season.
