Upon arriving in Tamworth in 1974 for a job at the now-defunct Rural Bank, Gary Burger, a rugby league player from Murwillumbah, found himself in Pirates colours.
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He played a decade for the club - a mixture of first grade and second grade, and fondly recalled the two tries he scored on debut in the top grade.
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Burger, who was a halfback, gave a lot of himself to Pirates. And like all healthy relationships, it was reciprocated.
As is often the case, Burger hung up the boots to concentrate on his family. He has two sons: Darren Burger is the assistant pro at Tamworth Golf Club. Neither boy has played rugby.
Anyway, more than a decade after retiring as a player, Burger found himself back serving Pirates.
And it is this still-active phase of the relationship that resulted in the club awarding him life membership in 2016 - the honour revealed at the presentation night and catching him by surprise.
"It shocked me, really," he said, adding that he was taking care of a raffle on the big night. "Someone come out and got me and said, 'Get in here! Get in here!'"
For years he was Pirates' groundsman, with assistance provided by Dr Andrew Verrell, an agronomist. "He was the brains and I was the brawn," Burger said.
Verrell is now the groundsman. And fittingly, Burger assists him - as well as helping out in any way he can at the club.
"It's a big area down there at Pirates," Burger said. "You've got a lot of surrounds you've gotta look after too. It's a lot of work."
