Readers are advised that this report may contain the names and images of deceased First Nations people.
The Singleton Roosters AFL club, devastated by the loss of several players in a horrific wedding bus crash in June, rallied and returned to their home field for the first time on Saturday, July 15.
Even as they shouldered their grief on Saturday, though, the club's president Dylan Hixon said the Roosters and the broader community were trying to return to some normality.
"We have lost important people to our club," Mr Hixon said, "Nadene was a beautiful woman - she used to tell me to man up and have a go; she never wanted anyone to sook about things. She just wanted everyone to go out there and have a crack.
"I sat there imagining all the times she would have said 'what are you all crying over me for, go out there and play footy'. This is what she would have wanted."
The Roosters' first-grade women's side took on Cardiff in the day's first fixture at Rose Point Park before the men's third grade played The Entrance-Bateau Bay in the afternoon.
Cardiff won the former clash 6.7 (43) to 4.6 (30), while the men beat The Entrance-Bateau Bay 12.9 (81) to 5.8 (38).
In a moving gesture, before play commenced on Saturday, the challenging Cardiff Hawks formed up an honour guard alongside the Roosterettes' local supporters as the home side took the field.
When play broke, both teams joined together around Graham 'Banger' McBride - the husband and father of Nadene and Kyah - in an emotional rendition of the team song.
"Everyone rallying behind us has just been amazing," Mr Hixon said, "We're a small country town and a small club in a rugby league-dominated area, but everyone has come out to support us.
"I sit here every day and think this is just amazing."
NSW Premier Chris Minns travelled up for the club's return and, with local MP Dave Layzell and Mayor Sue Moore, said $1.7 million would be put towards improving the Rose Point AFL facilities, including installing accessible amenities for the women's grades.
The work also includes plans for erecting a memorial at the club to remember the lives lost in the crash.
"It is a real privilege to be invited in," Mr Minns said on Saturday, "There are no consolations after this kind of tragedy - it is so horrible - but if there is any glimmer of hope, it's that people were here for one another when they needed to be.
"They are leaning on each other. They are going to need each other in the years ahead.
Singleton Mayor Sue Moore said it was a historic and emotional day for the club and its supporters, but seeing the Roosters return at the weekend was helping the town to heal.
"Everyone has a connection in some way - everybody knows everybody in a small country town like Singleton. It's hugely important that we can pull together and work through these kinds of things, and today is just an example of how that is coming together."
Mr Layzell said, even as the town and club grieved, they sought ways to channel their anguish into a lasting legacy.
"We're looking for ways to channel that grief into something positive," he said, "The fact that everyone is out playing today is part of that process."
Mr Hixon said the club would aim to return to regular fixtures from now on, except for the men's first-grade side, who withdrew from the Black Diamond Cup in the wake of the crash and have since forfeited their fixtures.
"We want to get back to normality," he said, "It's what they would have wanted. They would be up there now, watching us playing footy."
Later, only moments before he took to the field, Mr Hixon addressed a packed press conference surrounded by Rooster's supporters and players waiting in the wings.
"I love this club," he said, "I'll love it until the day I die."
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