Benn Genardini has a big couple of weekends coming up as he chases success in sporting pursuits new and old.
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After lining up for Oxley Vale Attunga in this coming Saturday's Northern Inland Premier Division grand final, the striker will the following weekend suit up for Tamworth at the postponed NSW Senior State Cup.
It will be his first time away with the Taipans, having only started playing oztag with a few mates in the local competition a few years ago.
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Coaxed into trailing for the over-30s side, it was his selection in that that in effect prompted his return to the field for the Mushies.
"Since I was half fit, I thought I'd have another run around," Genardini said.
Another of the returning 'old guard', he joked that he "led them on for a little while".
"I said no so I didn't have to do their pre-season as well as oztag pre-season.
"I didn't want to give myself too much to do," he said.
"But when it came down to it I was probably always going to have another run."
Having not pulled on the red since 2017, his initial intention was just to play reserve grade.
"I was pretty happy just sitting around in reserve grade," he said.
But as invariably happens, once he started playing he got the bug again so when coach Tim Coates put it to him midway through the season about stepping up to first grade, he said yes.
Although as fellow returnee Sam Higgins chimed in "he didn't have a choice".
Reuniting with the likes of Higgins, Brendon Fergie, Adam Watson and skipper Lachlan Browne "has been good" Genardini said, adding that to win another premiership with them would be pretty special.
On Saturday he was one of five goalscorers as the Mushies produced a dominant second half performance to account for South United 7-nil and win through to their first grand final since 2017.
After a tough and tight first half with scores locked at 0-all at half-time, the minor premiers found their rhythm in the second half, Jack Diebold and Mitch O'Keefe both scoring doubles.
"We were doing most of the things right, just not well enough, so we spoke about that (at half-time) and we got it right in the second half and the goals started to come," Genardini said.
He scored their third to christen his new boots in the perfect manor.
Still sporting that new white sheen, Saturday was their first outing, aside from two training sessions.
Genardini said he had been "trying pretty hard to preserve" his old ones "but they weren't going to make it" so he "had to bite the bullet and get some new ones".
He is looking forward to the grand final, and also the State Cup.
"I'm only pretty new to it (oztag). I was only floating around there in lower grade mixed and they asked if I wanted to play in the over-30s so I thought I'd have a have a crack at it," he said.
Having played soccer pretty much all his life, he has enjoyed doing "something different".
