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Who will claim the Peter McDonald Premiership Knockout crown?
That's the big question as both Parkes Spacemen junior and senior sides head into the finals of the inaugural knockout this Saturday at Jack Arrow Oval in Bathurst.
After a cracker of a day hosting the start of the new preseason tournament across three of Parkes' footy ovals on Saturday with 11 of the 12 clubs present and as many as 2500 people here for the action, Spacemen president Andrew Thomas couldn't be happier with the turnout.
"I just want to give credit to our volunteers and the people who came forward from the community," he said.
"It's not all about putting money into our club's pocket but we shared it around with rugby union, Parkes Tractor Trekkers - good money goes to their cause which is prostate cancer, the Parkes Spacemen Old Boys.
"Without those organisations we couldn't host the event like we did.
"It's great to have that sort of support within the community.
"And obviously our local players and their families come along and jump in, and fill-in spots and roles, and when you ask our club to step up, it was great.
"I've said before we might not have the best facilities but I've got the best helpers in the world.
"[The day] was incident free and it was a great result in how many visitors we brought into the town, with 2500 people."
Giving clubs an early run ahead of the season which begins on 19 April, Parkes was off to a great start in the competition with three wins each.
Parkes beat Dubbo Macquarie 8-4 in first grade, smashed Orange CYMS 16-4 in juniors (18s) and likewise in league tag downing the Dubbo Macquarie 16-4.
First grade were unbeaten, ending a spectacular day with a local derby teaser against Forbes Magpies and winning 12-0.
Jack Eyre, Joseph Dwyer and Malakai Folau each scored a try.
The derby win was Thomas' highlight for the day, but seeing them and juniors progress into the finals was up there too he said.
"Quite a few of our first graders didn't play... but our Reggies stepped up, and we've got pretty good depth within that group between first grade and reserve grade," Thomas added.
Spacecats went down 8-4 against Bathurst Panthers in the second round.
League tag held its finals on the same day, all of it taking place in the afternoon at Northparkes Oval.
"The girls done really well and made the semis - the club's just sort of building year from year so it's great," Thomas said.
It was Bathurst St Pats who reigned supreme in the end becoming the eventual winners of the league tag knockout after making their way through the semi finals and into the grand final at 3.40pm with Orange CYMS.
Bathurst were the first to score and held on for an 8-all draw - winning the knockout and taking home the $3000 in prizemoney.
The Spacecats placed fourth overall.
Organisers said the knockout was a fantastic way to kick-off the 2026 Peter McDonald Premiership season.
"It was great to see clubs from across the competition come together on Saturday with players back out on the paddock enjoying their footy and putting on some quality contests across all fields," they said, posting on the PMP Facebook page.
The knockout finals, they said, are shaping up to be a massive day of footy with juniors and seniors battling it out for a place in the grand finals.
With the draw released on Tuesday morning, the preliminary finals will see our Parkes Spacemen 18s take on Dubbo CYMS on Field 2 at 10.30am on Saturday, followed by Forbes Magpies and Orange Hawks at 11.15am.
Seniors will be on Field 1 but the Parkes Spacemen have a bye.
They finished second in their pool overall last Saturday and will automatically move into the semi finals because of uneven teams.
Forbes Magpies seniors play Bathurst Panthers at 10.30am.
Orange CYMS, Bathurst St Pat's, Mudgee Dragons and Dubbo CYMS are the remaining teams who have qualified for the finals in first grade.
Junior semi finals will then take place at 12pm and 12.45pm and senior semi finals at 1.30pm and 2.15pm.
The grand finals will be at 3pm for juniors and 3.45pm for seniors. In first grade it's $5000 prizemoney up for grabs.
Head along to Bathurst to cheer on your Spacies this Saturday - gates open at 8am and entry is $10, $5 for concession and under 16s free.
The bar and canteen will be open all day.