The writing was on the wall for the embattled club long before it closed its doors in December 2015, yet some Katherinites are clinging to sentiment and a misplaced sense of entitlement to justify why they believe it is the Northern Territory government’s responsibility to provide what equates to a perpetual bailout package.

The club and the Department of Sport and Recreation are not one and the same, a fact many arguing that the former should have kept operating at any cost need to recognise.

As uncomfortable as it may be, the reality is that the club will never operate again, with the smart money on the government offloading the property to a developer in the not-too-distant future.

While countless Katherinites have fond and extremely personal links to the club, questionable governance, hundreds of thousands of dollars unaccounted for and dwindling patronage over several years sealed its unavoidable fate.

It is not all bad news for sport in Katherine, however.

On the back of a $450,000 infrastructure grant, momentum is building for Katherine Town Council to transform its existing sporting precinct into a true hub that will provide a long-term benefit to the community.

With community support, grants and a bit of bold, forward-thinking investment by the council, there is every chance that the precinct could eventually be the envy of other towns across the Territory.

The biggest hurdle for the vision will be convincing those grasping at almost-forgotten memories of sporting glory on the green grass of the Katherine Sports and Recreation Club paddock that a whole-of-community approach is needed to take the next leap forward.

Katherine cannot let its flourishing sporting ambition be stymied because a handful of people have taken their bat and ball and gone home in the wake of the club’s murky demise.

If the community rallies behind the push to develop a legitimate master plan for the precinct and accepts that the full-time siren has sounded for the Katherine Sports and Recreation Club, the story of the town’s sporting accomplishments will likely have a bright future.