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WHILE the local Group 11 season has come to an end, exciting rugby league action will return to Caltex park today with the Dubbo Waratahs Rugby League Football Club hosting the fourth Dubbo NAIDOC Rugby League Knockout.
Sixteen teams from across the state will converge on Caltex Park for the annual tournament, all playing for their chance to win the $6000 in prizemoney.
The Waratah Knockout sees the name of the main trophy changed each year to honour a former Dubbo Waratahs player and this year it will be named after Billy Lake.
Last year it was won by the Country Coastal Brothers, a team featuring a number of local players and a number of representatives from CYMS, Macquarie, Westside and Wellington are expected to be in action again today.
These smaller knockouts are perfect for teams in order to have a run together before the annual NSW Aboriginal Knockout, when 60 teams will play across the October long weekend at Raymond Terrace.
As well as the main men's open division today there will also be an under-17s round-robin competition and the John Zaia Memorial Gift.
The Gift is a sprint race in which each side is allowed to nominate one player in order to find the tournament's fastest.
In the spirit of NAIDOC and reconciliation each team will be permitted two non-Aboriginal players in their side.
The action will start early this morning and go right through the day with the final played under the watchful eye of Neil Milgate, who will be on hand after the match to present the Bev Milgate Memorial trophy, an award for the best player on the field in the decider.
There is plenty of history behind today's tournament. Dubbo Waratahs Sports Aboriginal Corporation was formed in 2011 in memory of the Dubbo District Rugby Football League Waratah Club which was formed at Dubbo in the early 1930s.
They played in a competition before Group 11 was formed which included teams such as Newtown, CYMS, Railway and Central.
At that time there was only one Dubbo team that then selected players from these teams to then go on and compete against surrounding towns including Wellington, Narromine, Tomingley and Peak Hill.
Some of the well known players include Thomas Carr, Keith Holman, William and John Hill, Billy Lake, Fred Fuller, Sammy Hampton, Tom Carney, Bucky Burns and many more with Willy Hill senior as the trainer.
Dubbo Waratahs NAIDOC Knockout's major sponsor is the Garden Hotel and an evening event will follow there from 7.30pm tonight.
The carnival will kick off at 9am with Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson giving an acknowledgement of country and welcome to Dubbo.
The organisers of the event were also keen to thank the Dubbo City Council and the Dubbo Junior Rugby League for their support.