Central North Rugby Round 12: Andrew Moodie back steering the Pirates ship and loving it

Since returning from Sydney, Moodie has been part of a premiership-winning team seven of the last 11 years and enjoyed title success with Pirates (five), Kootingal-Moonbi and most recently North Tamworth. On top of that, he has been a prominent figure for whatever side he has been pulling on the jersey for.

At 38, the former NSW Country rep still is regarded as one of - if not the - premier five-eighths in the Central North competition, his ability to pin oppositions in their half through his kicking game unrivalled.

And he's "not finished yet", expressing ahead of Pirates' blockbuster clash with Narrabri at Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday, that he'd like to play on beyond this year.

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"I haven't got anything to prove any more," he said.

"It's about playing football with my mates and watching the young kids coming through."

The latter is the biggest reward, he said, highlighting the likes of Toby Maslen and Michael Purtle.

Back in the gold and black after playing with the Bears in 2019, Moodie said he was "always going to go back".

"The club holds a close spot in my heart, it's why I came back," he said.

He did take a bit of a detour, lacing up the boots for Moore Creek in the Northern Inland Premier Division last year after the Central North season was called off.

It was somewhat of a return to the familiar with Moodie playing a lot of soccer in his early adolescence.

"I only started playing any sort of football (league or union) at 16," he said.

Having not played for over 20 years, it took him a while to find his feet but he enjoyed it, although as he joked there was a lot more running and you don't get the breaks you do in rugby for scrums and lineouts and the like.

Pirates go into Saturday looking to bounce back after a shock loss to Scone last round. They are also looking to turn the tables on the Blue Boars after they got the points in the first round.

Asked where they need to be better than they were in that encounter, Moodie pointed to his own kicking game.

They also struggled in the set pieces, particularly the lineout.

"And our decision making as a collective needs to be better," he said.

The Blue Boars are coming off a bye and have been forced to make a few changes to the side that just got over Quirindi.

The big one is half-back Matt Schwager, who tore a muscle in his bicep early against the Lions. Rather than reshuffle the whole backline, coach Hunter Harley has opted to move Henri Knight from 10 to nine with Alex Pay coming into the starting side at five-eighth on the back of some good form in second grade.

The table would have the Blue Boars as favourites but Harley was downplaying the tag.

"I expect us to be very competitive, but I still think Pirates are the benchmark," he said.

He continued that his side "know what's expected of them".

"It's a matter of executing it. If they don't Pirates will get the points," he said.

In other games Quirindi host Gunnedah, Walcha are at home to Scone and Inverell travel to Barraba.

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