James Kitcher: Meet OVA's new strike weapon

But since linking with OVA this season after relocating to Tamworth for work, the Novocastrian has gone from a tenuous addition to the reigning premiers' lineup to a sparkling asset.

And while uncertainty hangs over the short-term future of the Premier Division because of COVID-19, Kitcher has proved to be predictable at the vanguard of Mushies' vaunted offence.

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After 16 rounds, and with the competition suspended due to COVID, the 24-year-old striker has scored 15 goals to sit second on the goal-scoring table.

He scored twice in Oxley Vale Attunga's last outing, a 7-0 defeat of second-placed South United a Riverside 4 - a win that secured the undefeated side the minor premiership.

On a splendid winter day, it was classic OVA: goals galore and an exuberance that was as tangible as Kitcher's menace.

Kitcher - who moved to Tamworth last November to begin a train-driver traineeship at Werris Creek - has been a footballer since age five.

He grew up playing for Broadmeadow Magic, and also had stints at fellow NPL Northern NSW clubs Lambton Jaffas and Charlestown Azzurri.

Playing for Mushies had been "great", he said.

"They're probably the best bunch of blokes I've ever played with ... really easy," he added.

"In a way, I had sort of fallen out of love with the game a little bit - like, I didn't really care. But now that I've come up here, I've fallen back in love with it.

"Credit to all the boys, the coach and everyone who's there."

Linking with OVA, Kitcher continued, had "made life really easy coming to Tamworth". The club had accepted him "with open arms".

"Everyone's always been really helpful. So, yeah, it's been an absolute joy."

Coates was equally effusive in his praise of Kitcher, saying he plays with "passion and enthusiasm" and "contributes anyway he can on game day and at training".

"He expects his teammates to be committed and to compete [and] he has settled in as a team member," Coates said.

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