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Parkes is gearing up to host the first-ever Peter McDonald Premiership Knockout, with 33 teams across three grades and a couple of thousand people descending on our footy ovals this Saturday.
If you love your footy, this is the place to be this weekend.
Parkes Spacemen Rugby League Club president Andrew Thomas is honoured to have first hosting duties, saying they always put their hand up when opportunities to host major events like this come along.
"It highlights the fact that we might have aging facilities but it's what's inside that matters, and we can make it work," he said.
The idea for a competition-wide knockout was floated and the search for a host began at the PMP annual general meeting last October.
"It's a working progress," Thomas said.
"Because they've got so many teams, they need three to four fields.
"That's the beauty of having three fields in a row, we're able to host it."
There's a field audit to ensure the fields and facilities are suitable and sufficient, and Thomas said they've "well and truly" been given the green light.
It will be a full day of footy across Pioneer (Jock Colley Field), Northparkes and Spicer ovals, with all 12 PMP clubs taking part in under 18s and open men's (first grade), and nine clubs in league tag.
Each side will play two games in a fast-paced knockout format, with 30 minute games, all battling it out for a spot in the finals the following weekend in Bathurst, 28 March, which will work on best for and against.
League tag will only participate this week, with finals also to be held in Parkes - the grand final between the winner of semi-final 1 and winner of semi-final 2 will take place at 3.40pm.
With 20 players per team, their staff and support, and volunteers, Thomas said they're looking at about 2500 people attending.
To pull-off the day it's going to take a community effort.
"It's not just about us," Thomas said.
"It's all about the community - we want to engage with the community and try to support them as much as they do with us."
Parkes Marist Junior Rugby League Club will work the canteen and manage the field at Northparkes Oval, while the Boars Rugby Union Club will look after the Spicer Oval canteen and the Spacies will take charge of Pioneer.
The Parkes Spacemen Old Boys will be on the barbecue and cooking at Pioneer with RFS volunteers taking care of traffic control in the car parks, and our Tractor Trekkers will man the gates and receive $1500 for helping out, which will go towards their cause to fight prostate cancer.
Parkes has previously hosted a notable game between the French national rugby league team, Les Chanticleers, and Western Rams in 2019, recreating a 1955 match against a then Western Districts team at the same location, Pioneer Oval, during France's 1955 tour.
"And that (in 2019) was just one field," Thomas added.
He admitted he was a little nervous to host the inaugural knockout but he's extremely keen to see the day play out.
"I just want to make sure we get it right," he said.
It's Thomas' first year as president of the club, taking the reins from Tony Dwyer after seven years as junior rugby league president.
"It's very positive, it's looking really good," he said of the season ahead.
The club has retained a good number of players as well as committee members for 2026.
"It's not about winning: it's the people within, it's building a club that's sustainable and giving back to the community, that's what it's all about," Thomas said.
Gates on Saturday open at 8am and it all takes off at 9am.
League tag will be playing all their games on Northparkes Oval, 18s on Spicer and first grade men on Jock Colley Field at Pioneer Oval.
The last match of the men's will play at 3.40pm, between Parkes and Forbes in first grade, and that was deliberate.
"We thought we'd finish on a high," Thomas laughed.
The Peter McDonald Premiership season begins on 19 April.