At the top of the list (or so we assume) is reserving funds for a purpose built sporting precinct at Orange.

Top class facilities, the potential to hold major carnivals, junior or senior, the capability to house national-level competitions and, most importantly, a great space for our kids to continue to be active.

It's a $25 million jolt our city needs, bringing Orange's sporting infrastructure into the 21^st century.

And the government delivers, making the announcement official after finding money in what is essentially a $500 million war chest called the Growing Local Economies Fund.

It'll be a sporting mecca, one that'll include a multipurpose oval capable of accommodating AFL in the winter and cricket in the summer. There's an athletic field and track with covered, tiered seating in the plan and a main rectangular field with a 1500-seat grandstand and seating mounds, with a total capacity for 8500 people - we can here the roar from the crowds now.

The new complex on the Northern Distributor Road will be a sight to behold. But, as it turns out, it'll also be a site to fear.

On Tuesday Dubbo announced it'll host an A-League pre-season game while Apex Oval will in August also house a National Rugby Championship clash, that fixture was confirmed on Friday.

It's been five years since Apex Oval has hosted a major national sporting competition, the last being the 2014 City-Country clash.

Five years is a long time by anyone's measure, especially for a town with a facility like Apex Oval and a thirst for major sport. They love it, but haven't had a lot of it in the last half decade.

Now all of a sudden "the Dubbo region is an excellent location for big-ticket drawcards and events like this, and we'll encourage more of them to come here in the future," Dubbo Regional Council mayor Ben Shields said at the A-League announcement.

Coincidental timing? Maybe.

Dubbo making a bit of noise in the hope they're not forgotten? Probably.

The big winner? Us. The sporting punters. Because the more exposure to sport, of all levels, we enjoy in the bush can only be a good thing.