Tom Woolaston is back where it all began - where his father, his grandfather and other members of his family prowled long before him.
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The well-travelled prop, 30, has returned to North Tamworth after making his first-grade debut there as a teenager. He came back specifically for one final season at the club, before relocating to Cairns with his partner and finishing his career there.
The chance to pull on the Norths jersey again, and play in front of his family once more, is something he has long desired to do. His grandfather, nonagenarian Jack Woolaston, is the club's founding president (when they were rebranded the Bears). Norths' home ground is named after him.
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Like Jack, Tom Woolaston's father, Peter, also played for Norths - captain-coaching first grade. And like his son, Peter also returned to Norths after playing elsewhere.
No start date as been set for the 2020 season due to the pandemic. But with coronavirus restrictions being eased, and moves under way to restart community sport in NSW, it is hoped the Group 4 season will commence soon.
Woolaston, however, is willing to hang around for another year if the 2020 season is shelved. With a life in Cairns awaiting him, he thought now would be "the right time to come and have 12 months back in Tamworth. So, here I am".
"I'm 30 this year. So, I've probably only got a couple of years left with football.
"I've always said that I want to come back and have a season with my soon-to-be brother-in-law Scott Blanch, and finish up where it all started ... it sort of means a lot to the family and the footy club [for him to play for Norths again]."
Blanch captain-coached the side to back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019, extending the sequence of premierships to a record six. He will marry Woolaston's twin sister, Millie.
A Bears junior, Woolaston debuted in first grade under Mick Schmiedel in 2010. He then played under Shaun Ferguson the following two seasons, with West Tamworth besting them in the grand final both years.
Woolaston, a truck driver, then played reserve grade for Lakes United in the Newcastle comp, before stints with North Newcastle and Hexham in the Lower Hunter comp. He spent the past two seasons playing first grade for the Carina Tigers in Brisbane.
His sole remaining teammate from the Bears circa 2012 is Richard Clegg.
Jack joked that he "baited" his grandson into returning to Norths. "I said: 'You won't make our bloody side'. And he said: 'I'll make it all right, don't worry.'" Jack added: "We're great mates."
