Orange Emus' home ground Endeavour Oval turns to slop ahead of Blowes Clothing Cup finals

These incredible pictures from Saturday's Blowes Clothing Cup match show just how chopped up the field became.

Emus co-captain Charlie Henley said the day began with the under 12s barely making an indent on the surface, but come second grade some damage was inflicted. Then, by first grade, the boys went "ballistic" on it, particularly the southern end of the field.

Cowra came away from the clash 7-5 victors over Emus, the low score indicative of the brutal nature of the field for the players.

And it all leads to this coming Sunday, with Emus set to host the Blowes Clothing Cup elimination semi-finals at Endeavour Oval.

The city has been hammered by incessant rain throughout August and if the poor weather continues this week getting one game on Endeavour Oval's main field, let alone the five Central West rugby has scheduled for August 21, will be a tall order. The ground won't be able to recover in time for Sunday.

Emus president Jamil Khalfan conceded, if the weather doesn't improve, five games on Emus' main field would likely be "unrealistic".

As of Monday lunchtime, Emus officials had approached Orange City Council to canvas alternate options for the club.

Wade Park was an attractive option, Mr Khalfan said, however Orange CYMS is booked to host its Peter McDonald Premiership elimination semi-final clash against Parkes on the same day.

Kinross and other council run fields, like a Max Stewart Oval, are also options. Emus has already transferred this week's training sessions to Anzac Park, Mr Henley said.

Mr Henley added the club had confidence in the Endeavour Oval groundskeepers but if the ground was deemed unsafe then other options would be taken up.

"Any decisions will be made well and truly later in the week. We're hoping to get some reprieve from the weather," he said, identifying the southern end of the ground as of particular concern.

"It bounces back quickly, the ground. We've had a few games there that have been similar to that, and the improvements to the ground have helped it to recover quickly. If we get a few dry days we should get on."

Mr Henley played hooker in Saturday's two-point loss to the Eagles - a result that secured the Cowra club the 2022 Blowes Clothing Cup minor premiership and hosting rights for Saturday's grand final qualifier against Bathurst.

He said the conditions both sides faced in Saturday's mud bath made life extremely tough.

"Throwing's hard, scrumagging is hard; we were on skates against Cowra. You just can't get any traction," he added.

The club's women's side and colts outfits are also scheduled to play at Endeavour Oval on Sunday.