Players and officials had to wait until a family of kangaroos left the pitch before a children’s match in the Australian coastal town of Woolgoolga could take place.

Hairdresser Alyssa Simpson, 38, reported the mob were there for about 15 minutes before kick off on Thursday afternoon.

The mother-of-two is quoted as saying:

I told my son, “That’s who you’re playing against today.”

And continued:

He told me he didn’t stand a chance!

But really the kids were loving it.

The [kangaroo] population around here is pretty big, but we co-exist pretty well.

Off the field that is.

There has been a surge in the kangaroo population on the North Coast of New South Wales in recent years, as well as elsewhere across the country.

Simpson commented:

I don’t find them to be a nuisance but obviously we have to keep a safe distance from them.

We tell kids around here to never approach them and respect their space.

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