Kurt Barrow goes to a sad place when he needs to remind himself that life is not too bad.
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The Tamworth FC striker thinks of the death of his good friend, Dan Haslam, who played reserve grade at the club before dying of bowel cancer four years ago.
"It's actually a fairly common thought in my head," he said. "If things aren't going the way I like it, or things are really though, you just have to really think, 'It's not that bad, is it?'"
In memory of his former friend, Barrow created the Dan Haslam Memorial Trophy, which Tamworth FC and North Companions play for each year. Haslam played junior soccer for Northies.
But before the 2019 version of that contest is held, Tamworth FC will look to make it two wins from two rounds, against North Armidale at Johnson Field on Saturday.
The reigning premiers beat East Armidale 8-0 on the road last weekend, to extended their Premier League unbeaten run to 21 games. They did not lose last season.
However, it would appear the unbeaten sequence is just about the last thing Tamworth want to discuss. Their eyes are fixed on the road ahead; the rearview mirror seemingly holds no attraction to them.
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Barrow, who netted five times against Easts, said: "We don't really talk about last year as, like, a winning streak or anything like that.
"It's completely restarted. In our eyes, it's not even really a thought ... We'd love to keep winning, obviously, but it's not our No.1 goal to go unbeaten - we just want to win the comp."
After serving a lengthy apprenticeship in reserve grade at FC before becoming a Premier League regular, Barrow is savouring the side's current success after the leaner years that followed the side rebuilding after premiership success in 2012 and 2013.
He said that becoming fitter, being able to get to the ball quicker, was the difference between his former self and the 2.0 version. At age 33, he believes he still has a lot to offer - his 19 regular-season goals last season the second most in the competition behind East Armidale Brent Pedlow's 21.
"It's obviously a lot more enjoyable when you're putting points on the board," he said.
In other matches on Saturday, East Armidale host OVA, while Northies play South Armidale at Riverside 3.
