THE KEMPSEY Cannonballs could be back in action by July, with plans for the local rugby competition to restart in a matter of weeks.
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At this stage, the Upper Mid North Coast competition (which takes in Kempsey) will be underway from July 18 with the grand final scheduled for October 25.
However, Mid North Coast Rugby Union chief executive Bob Wilson acknowledges all details will be subject to approval from the Federal Government and Rugby Australia.
"We've been in contact with the clubs and feedback from the majority has been positive, they are keen to start playing," Mr Wilson said.
"Obviously that's pending approval from the Federal Government and Rugby Australia," he told the Argus.
All clubs in the Mid North Coast Zone are allowed to start training from June 29.
"That will give teams two-three weeks to train, and get ready for the season," Mr Wilson said.
There's a strong possibility of some clubs picking up rugby league players, with the Group 3 rugby league voting to cancel this year's competition.
Rugby Australia is planning on submitting its plans to governments for a return to play this week and general manager of high performance, Ben Whitaker, also part of the return to play committee, is hopeful that a date can be pencilled in by the end of next week.
Initially a domestic competition had been slated to kick off on April 3 and that date was pushed back to May 1, a deadline that ultimately restrictions rendered obsolete.
The return to play committee is now focused on a July return for the competition, with a lead-in of at least three weeks' full training beforehand.
Once the planning documents have been submitted, with a number of competition proposals allowing for differing time frames included, and comments received, it is expected that a tentative date will be revealed.