The Group 19 rugby league season might be over, but that didn't stop a fantastic day of footy on Saturday, with the Moree Boomerangs' Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout.
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Nine men's teams and two women's teams, both local and from across the region, competed in the tournament, with some spectacular play on show.
With nine teams competing, the tournament was split into three pools, with each team playing two games before the top four advanced through to the finals.
Terry Hie Hie Connections were the winners on the day, beating out MOB in a hard-fought grand final.
Terry Hie Hie Connections manager David Swan said he was "over the moon" with the win.
While the team has been around for a number of years, this year's win came with extra significance as they remembered their manager William Beale who passed away earlier this year.
"We had his photo on our shirts and we basically played for him," Swan said.
Terry Hie Hie hooker Stewart Porter was named player of the tournament while Will Fernando got man of the match in the final, while William Beale's brother Warren also played.
Swan wanted to thank Naomi Curtis for all her hard work, as well as William's mother Pauline Cain, for letting them play in his honour.
Moree Boomerangs coach Chris Binge said the tournament was "an absolutely fantastic day."
"It was well supported by the teams that were involved, and more importantly well supported by the community," he said.
"It was a great community atmosphere, great family day and well participated by all the players and the teams that were involved on the day."
The 2019 tournament was held 50 years after the first ever knockout was held in Moree, and Binge is looking forward to the event returning next year.
He said all feedback was really positive, and the officials that were there "couldn't speak highly enough on how the day went."
"When you get that sort of stuff said back to you, and when you hear it from officials, that's a major positive," he said.
While it was an Aboriginal knockout, each team had the opportunity to play five non-Indigenous players.
"I know from the feedback from the non-Indigenous players, they loved the opportunity to play in a knockout event. They loved the atmosphere of the day," Binge said.
While there was plenty of exciting action on the field, the event also provided a boost in the community.
The Amaroo Tavern hosted the post-tournament celebrations which attracted one of the biggest crowds they've had.
"I think from the whole community's perspective, it also brought other communities and I'm hoping the local businesses would've felt a small injection into their businesses," Binge said.
Following the success of this year's event, Binge is confident they'll be able to attract more teams to next year's knockout.
It also provided the Boomerangs a good hitout before the Koori Knockout from October 4 to 7, where they have entered two teams.