Ann told the Examiner the honour came as a surprise to the pair who have happily given their time to rugby league for decades thanks to their love of the game.

“It wasn’t expected because last year they said they would be cutting it out. It was a thrill because it was the first time a husband and wife had been given life memberships in the history of the club so it was a nice surprise,” she said.

“The microphone wasn’t working really well so it was a bit of a surprise in that we knew we were going up the front but not what we going up for.

“We both have a lot of passion for the club and for the game itself.”

Their long association with the Magpies club began in 1992 a year after their son Scott first started playing junior football. Ann started helping in the canteen and Bill took over running the bar at the club’s Mead Park home.

A couple of years later Ann would become the club’s treasurer and take over the running of the canteen. Scott played juniors for a few years before moving into the senior grades and changing position.

“Scott started in juniors as a wing then he went to reserve grade in the hooker role and he also played a few games in first grade in the hooker role,” Mrs McKenzie said.

Mrs McKenzie was also heavily involved in the initial years with a now-defunct competition which she remembers fondly.

“During the initial terms when I was at the canteen and working as treasurer we used to have Miss Group 19 competitions which each of the teams would go in, so I used to run the Miss glen Innes and was chairman of the Miss Group 19 comp.”

And while Scott ended his time as a Magpie approximately 19 years ago and has since moved to Goondiwindi and started a family of his own, Bill and Ann have continued their support of both the club and the group it plays in. The typical game day at home means a relatively early start for both of them.

“I do the gate so I’ve got to be there early, probably around 8am, and Bill goes around the toilets and makes sure there’s toilet paper and hand towel and he also runs all the power cord for the video.

“Bill sells raffle tickets and always gets the jerseys ready for the day.

“We have also run mini lotto for the club each week.

“We also go to all the away games and we are usually there from the league tag so it’s about 10am most game days.”

And while their favourite ground remains the Magpies home ground, Ann said they enjoy getting back to Moree where they used to live.

“Our favourite is Mead Park but we also like Moree and Goondiwindi.

“I was born in Moree and we lived out there so we like going out there as Bill can have a yarn with all the people he used to know, and now Goondiwindi is in the comp we have family out there so we also enjoy going there,” she said.

Ann told the Examiner she met Bill at a property her father used to manage and Bill used to take her father to rugby league games all around the region.

“We met at a small place called Weemelah where my father managed a property. Bill came there to share farm wheat on the property my father managed.

“We moved to Glen Innes February 1990 to mine sapphires. We were originally 100kms west of Moree out amongst the cotton and wheat.”

Both Bill and Ann are avid followers of the game locally but also at NRL level with Ann a Bulldogs fan and Bill a fan of a few teams, according to Ann.

“Bill is a Queenslander. He likes the Broncos and the Storm but I’m a Bulldogs supporter.”

Ann added that come game days in the NRL they can’t help but engage in friendly banter.

“We have our little arguments, he tells me it’s a forward pass I tell him it’s not. We have our fun.”

“It’s a loud household at state of origin time, mainly from me,” she said.

And while Bill and Ann, who returned as treasurer a few years ago, are planning on winding back their involvement with the Magpies Ann was quick to point out that they will still be about to show their support for the team in black and white.

“We will be around as supporters but we want to spend more time with our grandkids and family.

“We want to step back and let the younger ones step up and have a role in the club.”