As Dubbo Regional Council was announcing the match between Penrith and South Sydney at Apex Oval injected $2.4 million into the local economy, those in Tamworth were lamenting another missed opportunity.

Despite an agreement with Wests Tigers, this year marks the second in succession COVID has forced a planned match at Tamworth's Scully Park to be abandoned.

The Wests Entertainment Group is hoping the Tigers return next year after the match originally planned for last weekend was played at Rockhampton.

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That happened due to the NRL moving all its matches north of the border to deal with the ongoing COVID outbreak in NSW.

Wests Entertainment Group chief executive Rod Laing has been left to ponder what could have been had Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe opted to "go early" with the match in 2021.

"It was Justin's decision to go late," Laing said of the Tigers CEO opting to stage the Sharks clash in August.

"He said, 'Look, COVID will be a thing of the past. So let's go late in the season. And that way we'll have greater numbers at the game, etc'. So that backfired on us.

"If we'd gone early like the other regions, we would have had a game done and dusted for Tamworth. So, yeah, luck wasn't on our side."

More than 10,000 people attended the May 23 NRL match in Dubbo, resulting in accommodation numbers in the city reaching a four-year high.

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