Postponed 2021 NSW Senior State Cup cancelled in Port Macquarie after statewide flood event

Since December 1, more than 900mm of rain is believed to have fallen at the Tuffins Lane precinct in Port Macquarie which rendered all of the fields unplayable.

It left the NSW Touch Association with little choice than to cancel the 2021 senior event two weeks ahead of schedule.

NSWTA general manager Dean Russell, however, said there was a difference between the cancellation of the State Cup compared to the Junior State Cup.

The wet weather isn't restricted to Port Macquarie.

"If you look around the entire state, it's not just a Port Macquarie issue this time," he said.

"The National Touch League at Coffs Harbour had to be postponed and the oztag event scheduled there from next Friday has also been cancelled or postponed, so the whole region has copped it."

While the continued drainage issues didn't help Port Macquarie, Mr Russell is aware of discussions which have started between St Agnes' Catholic Parish, Port Touch and other elements of the community.

"The discussions are looking into costs and plans to improve the drainage," he said.

There will be some honest discussions between all parties in the coming weeks.

"There's a lot of emotion attached at the moment and we've got to temper that, but also have some open and honest conversations with council around the venue and what may be planned," Mr Russell said.

"Those conversations would be happening at least in the next month or two to give us a bit of line of sight before we go to tender.

"It's pretty raw at the moment for our members, but it's pretty raw for the Port Macquarie community too."

In a statement posted on social media, the NSWTA said the fields would require five-straight days of sunshine to allow them to dry out.

"Unfortunately, the predicted weather forecast across several weather websites does not indicate this possibility," the statement read.

"There are short periods of respite expected. However, these are also interspersed with several days of rain predicted with some significant downpours."

The NSWTA had also looked at moving the event away from Port Macquarie, but with a large portion of the state still flood-affected or potential alternate venues already booked, there was nowhere else to go.

"It would be no surprise to anyone that this would also present significant challenges to the organisation and even more so to our volunteers and participants," the statement said.

"We identified seven venues we felt might be a possibility however none were an option."

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council economic and cultural development group manager Liesa Davies said they were extremely disappointed the rescheduled senior NSW State Cup had been cancelled.

"Both council and NSW Touch have recognised the devastation caused by the recent weather event and recognise the impact this has had on both local competition and recent major touch events here and elsewhere," she said.

"Having received over 740mm of rain since the beginning of the year and with more forecast in coming weeks, our fields are sodden and, of course, we understand the decision."

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