Regardless of whether or not Group 21 competition resumes this year, former NRL representative and 2018 Newcastle Rugby League player of the year Adam Clydsdale knows the Scone Thoroughbreds are in a "good" place.
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The Upper Hunter club claimed all four minor premierships - first grade, reserves, under 18s and ladies league tag - before the season was put on hold last month amid the state's coronavirus lockdown.
"We've got a really strong club at the moment, a good culture and good juniors coming through," Clydsdale told the Newcastle Herald.
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Although the Scone captain-coach would ideally like to "cap off a strong year", especially after Group 21 was completely cancelled in 2020 because of the global pandemic, he remains realistic and philosophical about the situation at hand.
"Definitely [I'd like to play again in 2021], but it's not looking that way. The longer it goes on it doesn't feel like we're coming out of lockdown," he said.
"It would be disappointing not to cap off a strong year but it is what it is and there's people worse off than us."
Clydsdale, a hooker who played 57 games between the Knights, Raiders and Sharks (2013-2017), had been sidelined recently with a shoulder injury but was confident of returning for the finals series.
"I was actually ready to come back for the round that got cancelled and we haven't played since," he said.
Scone, Singleton, Aberdeen and Denman remain in contention for the major title.
The Thoroughbreds won the most recent decider in 2019 with Clydsdale man of the match.
Five community competitions were abandoned last month - Newcastle Hunter seniors as well as Newcastle, Maitland, Hunter Valley and Group 21 juniors.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
