An eleventh hour phone call salvaged Sunday's round three Group 19 encounter between the Inverell Hawks and Moree Boomerangs.
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Friday saw Inverell Shire Council declare Varley Oval too saturated for any sporting fixtures to proceed.
Hawks coach Brock Mathers picked up the phone to Moree Boomerangs president Peter Duncan with a plea for them to take over the hosting of the fixture.
On the eve of National Volunteer Week, Duncan rallied the troops who mowed, marked lines and pulled together a working canteen in under 48 hours for the Sunday clash.
Mathers was full of praise for the Moree club in getting things in motion.
"I just think little things like that is all part of the community and I think they deserve a thanks and a bit of appreciation for making it happen," he said.
"They jumped on it pretty quick and chipped in to get the ground ready.
"They had to get their canteen up and running, buy stuff for the canteen and get that running as well.
"I think it was a huge effort."
The alternative was a potential mid-week fixture.
"The other options we play a mid-week game at Inverell which means the Boomerangs have to gather their troops, travel to Inverell mid-week, play a night game in the cold," Mathers said.
"To be honest, financially for our club it is not viable either; you don't get the same crowd, you don't get the same atmosphere."
In terms of on-the-field, the Hawks and 'Rangs men finished with a 32-all draw.
"It was tough, it is always tough down there against Moree," Mathers said.
"At one point we were 32-20 and we were in charge of the game and we had an opportunity to finish the game off.
"They had 11 men and we had 13 and we had an opportunity to seal the deal and failed to do so."
Varley Oval was set to host an AFL North West fixture on Saturday before the rugby league games on Sunday before the ground was shut.
Mathers believes it will be an ongoing issue with more rain forecast in coming months and is eager to work with council to come up with a solution.
"We have got to somehow move forward because looking at the weather reports, there is a big chance we are going to have a wet winter," he said.
"If these grounds are going to be closed regularly, we have to come with other options.
"These closures have a huge effect on small clubs, whether it is league AFL.
"We get a small opportunity each year to make some money for the clubs and every time a ground gets closed or put back, it has a huge impact on the running of the footy club.
"I don't really want to have a dig at the council but I would at least like them to talk to the small clubs and come up with a fair solution to get our games in.
"If it means playing on it one week and then not training on it for a week or two, happy days."
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