Column | Peter McDonald's family says 'Ace' would be honoured by new Western Rams title race

"But he wouldn't be a fan of all the fuss," McDonald's son, Rodney says, the Peter McDonald Premiership officially set to kick-off this weekend. "Rugby league was something he loved dearly.

"He'd be honoured by this, no doubt about it, but he'd be thinking 'what's all the fuss about'."

McDonald, the long-time Cowra, Group 10, Western and Country Rugby League administrator, lost his battle with illness in July, 2021, four days short of his 66th birthday.

His presence was a constant at Sid Kallas Oval for over nearly five decades, while Ace provided many an aspiring administrator with a wealth of knowledge at the drop of a hat.

He was a pillar for rugby league across the region.

More than that, he proved a friend to all - and one of those great mates was his long-running Group 10 colleague Linore Zamparini.

"Mate, he'd be very humbled by all of this," Zamparini said looking ahead to the season kicking off officially on Saturday, before echoing a familiar sentiment, " ... but he wouldn't like the fuss."

Peter McDonald didn't like the limelight. That much is clear. He didn't seek it though, either. He dedicated his life to the game he loved simply to give back.

Rugby league didn't give him a glittering playing career. Nor did it produce a premiership ring, year-on-year, like some who decide to coach or volunteer confess to enjoying in a past life. For Ace, bush footy gave him so much more. The greatest game of all gave McDonald everything.

His acceptance speech after being awarded life membership to the Country Rugby League in 2018 sums him up best.

"They made me get up and I was presented with a medal and then I had to respond and I choked up a bit," McDonald said four years ago. "I said 'I've been doing football for 43 years and married to wife for 41, and I love both dearly' ... that was it, I had to get out of there pretty quick after that."

Short and sweet. Little fuss. Just the way he liked it.

Zamparini saw McDonald at work first hand for well over a decade, the pair forming a successful one-two combination at the top of Group 10. In fact, it's the longest running president-secretary combination in the group's history.

Together they oversaw the growth of Group 10 from a seven club competition to nine, with small towns Oberon and Blayney both returning to the top flight by the mid-2010s.

For McDonald, that success at group level then translated to Western Rams dominance.

With strong foundations in both the Group 10 and Group 11 competitions, any juniors coming through the grades were exposed to some of the best senior rugby league anywhere in the bush.

The result? Unparalleled success at a country championship level, with both Rams sides dominating the Andrew Johns Cup and Laurie Daley Cup competitions in their inaugural years.

Turn on the television and you can see that success first hand, too.

It's there in blue and white when Matt Burton puts up another of those towering bombs with Canterbury. It's there in black flashing down the western touchline when Charlie Staines scores for Penrith.

Ace's finger prints are all over any of the success stories this region has seen in the last, well, near 50 years. And he did it all, as most will know, with zero fuss.

And that's why naming the competition, the first season in which the powerful Group 10 and Group 11 competitions come together as one, the Peter McDonald Premiership was a no-brainer for Western Rams officials when the finer details of the new competition were being sought through in 2021.

"We had a bit of a heads up," Rodney reveals looking back to last year.

"We knew it was in the works, the name. We had a rough idea. But he never got to find out though. Peter Clarke announced it the day he passed away."

That day was almost nine months ago. It was a huge moment in the history of the game in this region. Where one door sadly closed, a new era was born.

And, come this weekend, arguably one of the biggest days in the history of Western Division will dawn.

Nyngan hosting Orange CYMS. Hawks playing host to Dubbo CYMS in Orange. The Spacies welcoming St Pat's to Parkes. Panthers travelling up the Mitchell Highway to Wellington to play the Cowboys.

Few could confidently say they saw this coming. If not for the New South Wales Rugby League absorbing CRL, we might not be here yet either.

But those same few must now be champing at the bit at the realisation some of the proudest clubs anywhere in the bush will now be competing a western-wide premiership.

The fact Ace's name now up in lights is just the cherry on top.

"It's going to be interesting to see. We might eventually solve the debate who's better; Group 10 or Group 11?" Rodney added.

While, for the McDonalds, a Cowra win would be a moment to savour.

"I think it's been a bit of a driving force for a few of those senior guys at the club - there's a few coming back because of the name," Rodney said.

"Hopefully they can do really well for him."