A season of washed-out games in community sport has left organisers with the tough job of rescheduling matches and trying to keep people happy, while dealing with persistent rain and boggy fields.
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It is the third successive season of upheaval for sport, following two seasons of the pandemic playing havoc with fixtures.
Cooks Hill United Football Club vice president Brendan McManus said this season had been "pretty hectic".
"Leading up to the weekend, you get that anxiety of here comes the rain again. Then you start getting parents texting and ringing, saying 'is it going to be off again?'" Mr McManus said.
"In general the kids have been pretty disappointed when games are called off. All they want to do is play and have some fun."
His son and daughter - Austin and Audrey - play in under-10 and under-8 sides with the Cooks Hill club.
MiniRoo teams - which span the ages of four to 11 - have been among those most affected by washouts.
"During the middle of winter, it felt like probably half the games were washed out," Mr McManus said, adding that some games had been rescheduled.
As part of the Cooks Hill club's executive, Mr McManus has faced the challenge of managing people's expectations.
"Part of our role is to look after the grounds and make sure they're not trashed and so forth," he said.
"A lot of parents don't like that we close the grounds. We don't like having to close them either, but it's a bit of a balance. That's been pretty tough this year.
"It's been an unprecedented year I'd have to say in terms of the number of games we've missed."
He said his "hat goes off" to the football associations that have the task of managing fixtures.
"It'd be a nightmare for them," he said.
The three associations - Newcastle Football, Macquarie Football and Hunter Valley Football - announced a strategy last month that aimed to play as many games as possible.
They added a weekend to the season, with washed-out games to be played midweek and Sunday. Finals from under 12s to all-age were reduced to a two-week instead of three-week format.
But the rain has continued since then, making the fixture pile-up worse.
Newcastle Football CEO Russell Henry said games washed out now will not be replayed, but recorded as 0-0 draws. "That might suit some teams but not other teams. It's unfortunate," Mr Henry said.
"We're doing our best. It's a big group to look after and keep happy. It'd be great to have synthetic fields everywhere, but we don't have that luxury."
Mr Henry said safety and ground conditions were key factors when calling off games. While some grounds have good drainage, others have been boggy and wet for most of the season.
"A number of places you'd walk on and disappear because they're that soft and boggy," Mr Henry said.
The Cooks Hill under 15-1 female team had seven games washed out this season. The team is due to play six games in 22 days before the finals.
The side's coach Glenn Wilton said the girls were motivated to play, given their disappointment at missing so much playing and training due to rain and the pandemic.
Hunter-Central Coast AFL competition co-ordinator Lauren Francis said the AFL season wasn't extended.
It finishes on Father's Day [September 4].
"Some clubs tried to replay games, but a lot were cancelled with competition ladders using ratios to determine points," she said.
She said it had been a tough season for administrators. The consistent rain and closure of grounds meant juggling acts to rearrange fixtures.
"It has a real flow-on effect with not getting access to grounds to train on and what that does for conditioning."
Even Nelson Bay's Dick Burwell Oval, which has a sand base and drains well, was affected by the rain. She said clubs that couldn't have home games lost canteen and bar revenue [for seniors].
"You've still got to pay for umpires and costs."
She said the Wallsend West Newcastle Swans was the worst affected club.
"They came off their ground in March and haven't been back on it. The drainage there [Bill Elliott Oval, Maryland] isn't great. It got swampy and stayed that way.
"They had no home games at all this year."
She worried about the club volunteers, but hoped next season would be better.
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