That pride though has taken a battering recently, not with the side's performance, but with the state of the ground, in particular the stands and dressing sheds.

"King George was always the envy of the other clubs in Group 10," he said, "Now we have people wanting a refund because they can't even sit in the stands."

The stands were closed at the start of the season because the rails at each end of the stand are too low and non-compliant.

Mr Hornby pointed out that Blayney Shire Council had been aware of the issue with the rails for seven years and questions why the decision had been made, at the beginning of the first full season after two years of COVID related season cancellations, to close off the stands.

"We're a winter sport and people need to use the stands for protection from the wind and rain," he said. "Last week it was a beautiful sunny day so it wasn't a problem, but at the home game before that people were apologising that they wanted a refund and were leaving because they had nowhere to sit."

Blayney Shire Council's Director Engineering Services Grant Baker acknowledged that council had known about the compliance issue for some time.

"Irrespective of how long it was, the decision was made that we really could not carry that risk of potential liability," he said. "So we had to close it off."

Mr Baker said drawings were being prepared to then have the new railings manufactured and installed.

"The first part is to find someone who can prepare something that we can get certified and can pass the requirements from a planning and health and safety perspective," Mr Baker said.

For Mr Hornby the fact that the Blayney Bears pay council for the use of a ground that they can't fully utilise suggests that they aren't getting their money's worth and that some sort of financial redresss should be forthcoming.

"We pay for the use of the entire oval including the stands and if we can't use them, what are we paying for?"

Mr Baker said that any club can make a submission to council requesting some form of dispensation.

"Council is always talking with the clubs to see how we can move things forward and acknowledge the inconvenience," he said.