The Chuckanut Bay HS program from northern Washington state is on its way to Australia with its U17 team for a tour.

The team will stop over in Hawaii and play the Kahuku Raiders program, which has been on fire of late.

"We can't wait to play them," said Kahuku Head Coach Seamus Fitzgerald. 

"This trip has been two years in the making," said Chuckanut U17 Coach Todd Vasey. "We gave the kids a choice as to where they wanted to go, and even though Australia was more expensive than other trips, that's what they wanted to do."

The players worked hard to raise funds, with one player mucking out horse stalls to raise the money. Led by all-state flanker Patrick Condon, the Chuckanut U17s expect to compete, but know this will be a tough trip.

Chuckanut will play Kahuku in Hawaii before going on to Brisbane to play the West Bulldogs. They will tour the Queensland Reds stadium, and then play the Toowoomba Bears and then the Maleny Bushrangers.

The stopover in Hawaii turned out to be a happy accident. Vasey said he found that a long layover in Hawaii actually saved the team several hundred dollars per player. 

The Chuckanut squad that goes to Australia will be almost exclusively under 17 eligible. A couple of players will be older and their role will be to provide leadership. 

"Everyone's excited," said Vasey. "Some of these kids haven't been outside North America."