The Panthers are crippled by unavailabity, caused by issues around COVID jabs.

Community sport is now permitted in NSW after a two-month shutdown but all participants aged 16 and over must be fully vaccinated.

Only a handful of Lavington players had received their second dose at the latest count, while several of their young stars have been isolating this week as a result of positive cases in their schools.

Meanwhile, others are waiting for test results after a player who attended Panthers training last Wednesday and Thursday tested positive.

So far, all the results have come back negative but club president Sam O'Connor admits they're in a pretty tight spot ahead of Saturday and Sunday's season-opening T20s in first and second grade.

"With all the uncertainty, the competition for everyone who's single-dosed to get their second dose is pretty high," O'Connor said.

"There's such a battle for everyone to get their second dose, fighting for a limited number of doses, that it's a headache trying to get two teams on the park.

"I'm not sure what other clubs are going to be like but we've got a heap of people that are only single-dosed.

"In terms of getting a team on the park that's double-dosed, it's going to be an absolute battle.

"In all honesty, I don't think we'll do it this week.

"Last Thursday, we had five players in the senior club plus our two coaches that were double-dosed.

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"It really is stressful because, through no fault of their own, the under-18 lads were at the back of the line to get vaccinated and now they're being told they have to be double-dosed even though they were told a little while ago they shouldn't be dosed at all.

"We've got a couple of people that have been double-dosed early in the week but we've also got quite a few schoolkids who will play firsts and seconds and because they're close contacts of positive cases at their school, they've had to isolate and are missing their appointment for their second dose this week.

"While they would, in theory, have been ready to go come Saturday, now they won't be and they're in limbo as to when when they can book in for their second dose.

"It's up in the air what quality we'll have this weekend.

"It's very stressful for our seconds captain because he's trying to do the best for his side and if you have to forfeit the first couple of games at the start of the year, it'll have a big impact on trying to make finals."

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