Under 6's, 8's, 10's and 12's lit up the local oval under lights on Friday night while the older juniors up to under 18's made the trip to Darwin to compete for the first time since COVID-19 hit.

Jim King is both a coach and a parent in the junior rugby league and shared his thoughts on the impact of sport returning for kids and parents alike.

"Look they're out expending energy again, socialising again and seeing their mates," he said.

"I'd say the only people more excited than the kids are their parents.

"It takes a village to raise a child and that's definitely how it is here in Katherine, they go out and learn fair play values of fair-play and teamwork out here on the field with everyone watching.

"It definitely gives them a sense of self-esteem, especially those kids who might not have the best situation at home because they have their coach or a mentor to look up to.

"They go back to school and maybe they've just got the one really good thing they did on the field in the back of their head, so that self-esteem does carry on into the rest of their life as well.

"A lot of these kids really aspire to be like the NRL players or even just the older boys they see doing well around town, so it is a structure in a lot of kids lives which has a really positive impact," Mr Kelly said.

Junior Rugby League in Katherine boasts about 300 participants, with even more than that making the journey down to watch the kids play.

As such apart from the sport itself, the Friday nights are a social space the town as a whole is glad to welcome back into their lives.

Katherine Rugby League Treasurer and Secretary Annette Schefe says getting the numbers back down hasn't been an issue for such a popular weekly event.

"My kids are all grown up now but I stay involved because I just love it," she said.

"It is the biggest junior sport in town and people have come straight back down.

"We did mainly fitness for a few weeks, then had full-contact training for another two weeks as a precaution against injuries once games started.

"It's a family thing and because it's on the weekend it keeps kids out of trouble.

"They're either playing on Friday night or they're getting on the bus Saturday so they don't have the time to get in strife if they want to play.

"It's a big family and we're all down here watching over each other," Ms Schefe said.

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