South Dubbo Oval was looking a picture on Saturday morning, March 28, as the stage was set for the inaugural Outback Football Festival.

After many months of planning, the vision of a carnival of country footie hosted by the Dubbo Demons was in full swing.

With teams from across state invited from near and far, the Demons welcome sides making the journey from Parkes, Orange, Tamworth, Cowra, Maitland, and Tumbarumba.

With Parkes entering a senior women’s team for the first time since 2019, the new girls were eager to put their skills they had been working on at training to the test to kick off the day in style against the reigning women’s premiers in the Dubbo Demons. As the match progressed, the Demons had their work cut out for them against the Panthers, but proved too strong when the final siren sounded.

The Men’s opening match then kicked off between Maitland and Parkes, with the Maitland Saints running out strong winners and sending some nerves through the teams looking to face them later in the day.

With the alternation between men’s and women’s matches throughout the day, spectators were kept entertained with many keen to get involved and offer a mix of advice, encouragement, and the occasional sledge from the boundary.

The annual Izac Cornell Memorial game between Dubbo and Tumbarumba was marked by a minute’s silence before the battle for the trophy commenced. The Demons were keen to etch their name on the silverware with Tumbarumba proving the dominant side over the years.

The Demons started strongly in the first half taking a lead of 29-8 and ran out winners at the final siren 47-31 to take home the trophy, despite the attempts of the Tamworth team putting in a hard boat race effort at the Tavern in their claim to the cup.

The final women’s game for the day was played between the Demons and Tamworth/Cowra.

This proved to be a fierce battle after a long day of football, challenging both teams in their pre-season fitness efforts.

The Demons began to link up well with newcomers to the club, Emma Bowman and Sammy Howard, proving to be very handy recruits taking marks and defending well in the forward and defensive fifties.

Gabriella “Winx” Stanwix also played well over the day with some clean marks and passages of play, along with some brilliant run-down tackles. The Demons women finished well taking home their third win for the day, setting the tone for the season to come.

The Demons men also came away with two wins from two matches for the day, defeating both Roos’ sides in Tumbarumba and Tamworth. The boys will be looking to build on last year’s success with some new talent coming into the side and the team combining well under coach Adrian Hickey’s leadership.

A huge “thank you” to Jarred Clark’s team of volunteers from Taronga Plains Zoo Youth at the Zoo for entertaining families with face painting and bracelet-making, along with a huge effort working in the canteen for the day.

It was a fantastic day for the club, along with all the players and spectators and we look forward to building on this success for next year’s Outback Football Festival.