The NRL dream did not materialise for Beau Parry, but he's not crying into his beer at the Railway Hotel at Werris Creek, bemoaning what might have been.
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Instead, the former Knights signing is luxuriating in the fine existence he and his partner, Emma Bates, have established at the Creek - his childhood home.
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As Parry's Magpies prepare for a round one away clash against Gunnedah on April 9, he has touched on his past and his present while marvelling at the life he has been blessed with at the tiny town whose call was loud and clear when he was in Newcastle playing footy.
"[I] just got a bit homesick," the 26-year-old said of his time in Newcastle. "Yeah, it just wasn't for me.
"[I] found it more comfortable back home playing footy with my mates and working back here."
As a lock slash second-rower, Parry had signed a three-year deal with the Knights. While still at Quirindi High, he travelled back and forth between Werris Creek and the coast as he played for the Knights' Harold Matthew Cup side for a season.
He then relocated to Newcastle for preseason training with the Knights' SG Ball side, but didn't get any game time
Instead, he played a season of under-18s for Newcastle club Lakes United - with a couple of under-23 games thrown in.
Upon returning to Werris Creek, he made his first-grade debut for the Magpies at age 18.
"I'd say in a few aspects, for sure, I probably could've went a different way about it," he said of his Knights tenure.
"In the end, I was more comfortable within myself when I come back home," added the digging operator at the Werris Creek mine. "Like, I love pig-chasing and a bit of hunting and whatnot; more a fan of that than the beach."
Magpies chairman Jason Leonard said Parry had been "training the house down".
"I feel good within myself," Parry concurred, adding: "There's a good culture around the club again, which makes things a lot easier. It's much more enjoyable to go to training and whatnot."
Werris Creek had assembled a "confident" side, the prop slash second-rower said. "Outstanding numbers" were turning up to training, he continued.
The Magpies would give the premiership "a fair crack, for sure".
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
