For while it ended Bective East's chance to win their first premiership in 18 seasons in the heat of battle, with the 22-year-old captain steering the side, it provided a timely boost to the feed crop for his family's cattle property near Goonoo Goonoo Station.

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away ... sort of: Bective were crowned premiers because they won the major semi-final, South Tamworth their unlucky grand final opponents.

"I was a bit torn ... because we were just needing a shower of rain for all our crops at home," Paterson said. "But, obviously, you didn't want it to rain for the cricket.

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"But it's good for there [the farm] - heaps of feed. So, it's all good."

On the morning of the match, as light rain would soon lead to a downpour and the match's cancellation, South Tamworth captain Tom Groth posed for a photograph next to the covered wicket at Riverside 2.

He was smiling broadly, despite the grim outlook for the match, because of the ribbing he received for the staged shot. However, someone who saw the photo said he was probably smiling because he is a farmer.

Groth runs a cattle farm that is located between Bingara and Narrabri.

"He's a bit further away than what we are here, up in the Horton, but he was the same as me," Paterson said of Groth, not long after the finale was abandoned.

"They got 35mm [of rain] and he said they were looking for a bit of rain. Everyone needed it."

At age 19, Paterson was appointed Bulls captain for the 2018-19 season. He made his first-grade debut at the club at age 14.

Under the off-spinning allrounder's captaincy, the Bulls made the Twenty20 final in 2018-19 and 2019-20, but struggled in two-day games.

The delayed start to this season due to Covid-19 meant all the games were limited overs. Bective East, the minor premiers, rode a five-game winning streak into the grand final.

Paterson, an opener, finished second in the batting standings - scoring 276 runs at an average of 25.9 and with a strike rate of 145.3. He finished third in the bowling standings - taking 20 wickets at 10.95.

"It's probably all just come together," Paterson said of Bective's season. "I suppose a few young guys come up, and a few guys just dedicated themselves to cricket a little bit more.

"And then the culture around the club's really good now; everyone just wants to play."

Sporting wise, work wise and lifestyle wise, Paterson seems to be ideally placed. He manages the farm while his father Chris, the Bulls president, runs a stock and station business in Tamworth.

"I wouldn't be able to work in an office: I think I'd probably go crazy," Paterson said. "It's obviously what we love ... love the cattle, and love everything we do out there [the farm]. So, it's just worked out perfectly, really."

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