NOTHING has been ruled out.
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That's the message for Dubbo from both the Manly Sea Eagles and Group 11 despite reports yesterday that Caltex Park would not be hosting an NRL match this season.
A metropolitan newspaper ran a story yesterday stating Dubbo had missed out on Manly's round four clash with the Canberra Raiders with the club instead opting to take the match to Gosford.
But those reports were denied yesterday with the Manly Sea Eagles confirming to the Daily Liberal that Dubbo was still a chance of hosting the April 4 clash and club CEO Joe Kelly said in a statement no decision had been made yet.
"The club has been in contact with several communities and stadiums over the past few months regarding playing one of our two designated home games at their venues. We are in the final stages of this process now and should be in a position to announce something in the next fortnight," Kelly said.
Group 11 president Ross McDermott had also been in contact with the Sea Eagles yesterday morning and had been given the same message.
After successfully hosting the City-Country representative match last year, Dubbo was reportedly up against Perth, Adelaide, Gosford and a location on the mid-north coast for the NRL match, which is still listed at a location 'TBA' in the official NRL 2015 season draw.
McDermott admitted it had been a frustrating and whirlwind 24 hours after dealing with the conflicting reports but said after also getting in touch with the Canberra Raiders and speaking to coach Ricky Stuart he was feeling confident again about Dubbo's chances.
"I've spoken to people at Canberra and they're keen for it to happen and they're willing to provide some assistance to make it happen," he said.
"I spoke to Ricky Stuart and he's keen and certainly one of the people willing to get back into the bush and run training camps or school visits so while there's nothing yet they are all in talks.
"Things have slightly improved, some decisions you worry about a bit sometimes but I'm still keen for this to happen and am confident."
McDermott admitted it had been a frustrating time for his committee with Group 11 originally being told Manly would make a decision before Christmas.
"People have been asking me things and trying to clear things up but I've been more confused than most," he said.
"But we're still alive and we're hopeful."
Yesterday's report claimed the Dubbo community had raised $165,000 towards hosting the match with Manly originally saying it would be a $175,000 expense to have the match played at Caltex Park.
McDermott was again full of praise for the efforts and also for the work done by the Group 11 clubs and said if Dubbo is awarded the match it will be a real boost for the whole region.
"It's not just about football," he said.
"Both clubs will bring out high quality coaches and they're always keen to participate in events and talk about the game and sportsmanship and that's the biggest thing."