Joanne Jones's voice tightened, as if it were trying to hide.
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She had been in the process of detailing the genesis of her relationship with her husband, longstanding Kootingal-Moonbi president Clarence "Lad" Jones.
They had both attended Wee Waa High. Joanne was in year 9 when they started dating.
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The Leader: "Was Lad in the same year as you?"
Joanne: "No. He was in the year below me."
Cue her burst of laughter.
All these years later and the couple - who attended the same "pony camp" and whose sisters were best friend - remain inseparable.
Their love survived a lengthy breakup when Joanne was in year 12 and then studying education at the University of New England.
Reunited when Joanne was still at UNE, they then survived a lengthy long-distance relationship while she completed her degree and he remained in Wee Waa.
After graduating, they remained separated while she taught at Tibooburra Outback Public School for two years. When Joanne was transferred to Tamworth, Lad joined her.
And in the area they have remained, raising three children and becoming an indispensable force at the Roosters.
Joanne is the club's secretary and a longstanding member of the Roosters' committee, performing tasks such as working in the canteen and cleaning toilets. She is the latest recipient of the Leader's Unsung Sports Hero accolade.
When COVID derailed the 2020 Group 4 season, she thought it would be an opportunity to "get things done at home".
However, the couple - who live between Kootingal and Moonbi - ended up "really missing" that close contact with their Roosters family.
"You make so many friends within the club," she said. "And when there's no training, no games and no meetings, really, you don't get to see everyone."
Joanne, who teaches at Nemingha Public School, said it was a natural step for her to dive into the club's culture when her husband did.
For a number of years they also laced up on game days. Lad still plays reserve grade, while Joanne stopped playing league tag when she fell pregnant with their third child.
Jesse, 3, has cystic fibrosis. Joanne said he was "doing really well".
Her and Lad are lobbying the government to have the cystic fibrosis medication Trikafta listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
While Trikafta was not a cure, she said, it "promises to extend the life of someone with CF past 40 years" and would be a "game changer".
She continued: "CF and all the treatments and precautions certainly makes life busy and hectic, but he is a very happy child.
"And we are very lucky that he has been born into the era of great research and medication development."
