They play in different competitions, they are separated by close to 100 kilometres, but the Molong Bulls and Bathurst Panthers have the sort of relationship that can lift the spirits of an entire community.
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That's exactly what will happen this Saturday.
Having to keep off Carrington Park ahead of next week's NRL match, Bathurst Panthers were on the hunt for a venue to host its planned home ground fixtures against Parkes.
A call was put into the Molong Bulls. A venue was found.
On the surface it may seem odd choice for Panthers to shift a home game an hour up the Mitchell Highway to Molong, but a closer look shows why it was such a fitting choice.
Molong, a community which is recovering from last November's devastating floods, gets a boost from seeing one of the biggest league events ever held there.
It will also further strengthen an already existing bond between the two clubs.
Current Molong president Jenny Barrow spent plenty of time as a Bathurst Panthers supporter between 2015-18.
Firstly her son Todd signed on as captain-coach, then her other sons Jye and Kade became Bathurst Panthers as well.
"I'm friends with a lot of Panthers people, Jake Betts and Danny Dwyer from when my boys played there and Jake has got connections to Molong, his father was a Molong boy and his cousin George Betts still plays with Molong," Barrow said.
"They contacted us to ask if they could use our ground. I checked with council and there's junior football this week and there's no rugby union at home this week, so it's worked out well.
"It's a win-win for us."
While the Barrow brothers left Panthers to be part of Molong's Woodbridge Cup revival in 2019, the link between the two clubs remained.
In June 2021 Bathurst Panthers wore special Molong Bulls jumpers in their Group 10 clash with Orange Hawks as a way to pay tribute to Jenny's late husband Dave.
"When Panthers did the jersey for Dave, that was amazing, we were blown away by that actually. So I have got a soft spot for Panthers," she said.
"Panthers are a fantastic club, a good family club, we built a lot of friendships there that will last forever. We were more than happy to step up and help them out with a ground."
Panthers will donate all gate and canteen earnings from the Saturday's games against Parkes to the Molong Bulls.
It's a gesture which would mean a lot in normal circumstances, but as the Bulls are still recovering from the flood it's one which carries extra significance.
More than 100 millimetres of rain fell in the space of six hours last November, leaving not only the Bulls, but the entire Molong population with a huge clean up bill.
"It was such a shame, we virtually have to start from scratch because we lost everything in the floods. A big double fridge, double freezer, pie warmer, deep fryer, crock pots, our marque was damaged, we lost all the seating we had on the sidelines, our goal pads, we had to get new balls," Barrow said.
"So it was like starting from scratch again when we'd already done it in 2019, we hadn't had footy in Molong for footy in six years before that.
"We felt like we were starting to get ahead, each year we'd purchase something to put us ahead, but the flood just put us right back.
"I mean we were lucky, people lost houses and livelihoods. We're not complaining, there were people a lot worse off than us, but it was disheartening."
The money the Bulls will get from the Panthers-Parkes clash will help to replace some of the damaged equipment, but it will have another effect as well.
It will help to further raise the morale of the Molong community that lost so much, but has now as a whole been lifted by the generosity of others.
Barrow has long known the rugby league community looks out for each other, but is still touched by the support the Bulls have been given.
"We've just been blown away by how everyone has stepped up, the football community really steps up when something goes wrong," she said.
"The willingness to step up and help, it fills you with a sense of pride to be part of that community. I'm not surprised people have stepped up, but it's still very heart-warming."
Already the Molong Bulls has been helped out by clubs playing in the Peter McDonald Premiership.
Orange CYMS and Dubbo CYMS played their annual Foundation Fathers Cup pre-season trial on April 1 at Molong Recreation Ground.
"That was fantastic as well. [Orange] CYMS just out of the blue contacted us. They were going to sell off some excess merchandise and they donated the proceeds of that sale to us," Barrow explained.
"We were blown away by that ... but then they came up with the idea of playing the Foundation Fathers Cup game between Orange CYMS and Dubbo CYMS and thought they'd do it for us. They split the profits from that day between us, the Molong Bulls and the Cabonne Juniors, which is Molong-Manildra combined.
"That was a fantastic day. I think there was over $8,000 raised."
There was a healthy crowd turn out for that clash and but Barrow's hoping for even more people to come through the gate on Saturday.
They'll get to see an under 18s Tom Nelson Premiership match, Western league tag and reserve grade fixtures, then the headline Peter McDonald Premiership game between Parkes and Panthers.
The Parkes Spacemen head into that PMP clash after thrashing Orange Hawks 40-14 in round one, while Bathurst Panthers will be looking to bounce back from a horror 60-0 defeat at the hands of Dubbo CYMS.
Barrow isn't quite sure if they'll be able to set a new record crowd figure, but she hopes the Panthers-Parkes match showcases Molong's ability to host big league games.
"It will be a big day, we are very thankful they're coming our way. I just think with no footy in town on that day hopefully we get a big crowd, Barrow said.
"Our Manildra-Molong derby our first year back, that was a record crowd. Apart from a grand final, that's the biggest crowd they've had in Woodbridge Cup.
"Manildra-Molong is always a big game and because we hadn't had one for six years, I don't think we'll ever top that crowd, but this will be big.
"The fact we're getting first division games is very good for Molong, it's a nice central spot. Our facilities probably need upgrading a little bit, and that's in the pipeline, but once we do that and with our great lights, we might look to get a few more big games.
"It's great for the town and good to see players of a high level. That's not taking anything away from Woodbridge Cup because there's some very talented footballers in that.
"But the general public have probably never watched Panthers play, or Parkes for that matter, so it gives them the opportunity to see different sides. For any footy fanatics, it's going to be a good day for them."
As for who Barrow hopes to see win this Saturday, well there's no shock admissions.
"My heart is with Panthers of course, I've probably got to remain impartial to do the right thing, but we'll always have a strong connection to Panthers," she said.
"The three years we had down there was pretty amazing."
The first game between Panthers and Parkes will kick off at 11am.
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