Daniel Brennan, 8, and Will Limbrey, 7, have both been selected to attend the Australian Irish Dancing National Championships in Geelong at the end of September after coming first and second respectively in the state competition.

Will's mother Louise Limbrey, of Rosemeadow, said it was the first time her son had gone to the state competition while Daniel, of Eaglevale, had won the state competition the year before and came second in the nationals.

``It was his first try so he was over the moon with excitement,'' Mrs Limbrey said.

``Will has always been dancing, he used to watch Riverdance on DVD when he was a three-year-old, and Michael Flatley.''

Mrs Limbrey said she thought it was the rhythm and the musicality of Irish dancing that attracted Will.

``Plus it is important to him to be different because he has three other brothers and they are all into rugby and soccer.''

The competition at the state titles was particularly nerve-racking for the boys, but they supported each other.

``They are such good friends and they were all high-fiving each other and being supportive.''

Mrs Limbrey said the boys needed good stamina.

``They both train five or six hours a week because even though the dances are relatively short you need a lot of stamina to do them,'' she said.