Nicholas Tooth, 25, collapsed after a head clash with another player on field during a Central North first-grade game for the Quirindi Lions on Saturday afternoon.
He was administered first aid on the scene before being airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition. He died on Sunday afternoon, police said.
The Quirindi Lions club posted a tribute to the "kind-hearted" player on Monday morning on their Facebook page.
"The loss of this kind hearted and fine young man will be felt far and wide."
Club president Charles Murray told the ABC that Tooth had been visiting his hometown from Sydney on the weekend and that the incident just a "very tragic accident."
"There was no foul play, nothing untoward about it at all, sadly it was just a very tragic accident," he said.
