While that game will be postponed until round 17, the Queanbeyan Council has allowed Tigers co-coach Josh Bryce to end his 550-day break from football against Sydney Uni on Sunday.

Sport and Recreation Services acting director David Jeffrey said all stakeholders needed plenty of notice, which was why the decision was made on Friday morning following the advice of groundskeepers.

There was anger from the clubs that the decision wasn't delayed until Sunday morning, but Jeffrey said there could be no perceived inequalities between sports, despite the NEAFL being a tier-two competition.

''There are a couple of options, given where we are in the season, to program games at other points,'' Jeffrey said.

''We want to make sure there weren't any perceived conflicts or inequities about why one particular venue gets to remain open or one particular sport gets to be played.''

Ainslie's clash against Brisbane club Redland will go ahead as planned on Saturday at 12pm because they have control of their own ground.

Tricolours general manager John Smith said they thought about closing it, but they worked furiously to get the water off the ground and decided to go ahead.

Smith said the cancellation of all Canberra AFL games helped as the ground could only manage one game this weekend.

But they will be without  forward Nic Paine (hamstring) until after their round-four bye.

Queanbeyan will welcome back  Bryce, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a pre-season trial last year.

Bryce worked out Sunday's clash with heavy recruiters Sydney Uni will be about 550 days since his last NEAFL game – the 2012 NEAFL grand final against the Brisbane Lions reserves – and he will finally get back on the park in front of the Tigers' redeveloped grandstand.

He spent the time recovering from his second knee reconstruction to start learning the coaching caper and spent time working with the Greater Western Sydney Academy, as well as NSW-ACT Rams coach Jason Saddington.

He will be an understudy to childhood friend Kade Klemke, taking the match-day reins occasionally.

The pair played cricket together in under-12s and both pulled on the Murray Bushrangers guernsey in Victoria's elite under-18 competition, the TAC Cup.

''When I got the injury it was in the pre-season last year and was a bit of a downer, and I didn't want to dwell on it too much,'' Bryce said.

''I've been through a knee reconstruction before so I knew what was to come.

''I thought, 'What can I do to get something out of the year?' and coaching was the obvious choice.''

NEAFL ROUND TWO

SATURDAY

Ainslie v Redland at Alan Ray Oval Ainslie, 12pm

SUNDAY

Queanbeyan v Sydney Uni at Queanbeyan, 12pm

POSTPONED

Belconnen v Eastlake at Kippax