CODY Byrne is loving his move to Dungowan and that could bear fruit when his "new" club tackles North Tamworth in Sunday's major semi-final at Jack Woolaston Oval.
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Byrne is in his second year at Dungowan and excited for the Cowboys as they approach Sunday's huge day.
"Love it out there," the fourth-year apprentice plasterer said.
That the Cowboys have improved markedly this season is one good reason why he likes it so much.
"We were wooden spooners last year, won two games," he recalled.
"Don't know why," he said of the huge improvement to be second on the table this year, with only the Bears in front.
"Might have been that we played together last year."
The 22-year-old lock has been one of the Cowboys' best and most consistent players all season.
A lightweight forward at around 75kg, he's a former North Tamworth junior - having played there as a pre-teen before going to high school at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School.
He had a season with the North Tamworth under-17s before he played under-18s with Dungowan and then headed back to Norths for another season as a 19-year-old.
He laughs about the toing and froing before returning to Dungowan last season.
"I played with a few of the boys before," he said of the likes of Cowboys Pat Lange, who, like Byrne, is a lightweight backrower.
"He's tough," Byrne said of Lange, who might get smashed when he runs the ball into the bigger forwards but always gets up and has another run.
"I love playing with him," Byrne added.
As does the rest of the side. Seeing such a display of bravery every week is morale building and blood-warming.
That the Cowboys have a good side is verified by their top two finish.
And Byrne thinks the likes of Cowboys outside backs Tevita "Tex" Peceli and Brandon Parry could inflict points-scoring pain on the Bears.
"They are pretty quick," he said.
"Brandon is very light on his feet too," he said of the hole-running centre. "Trent (Taylor) is quick too," he added, in reference to Dungowan's No 1.
Then there are others such as Cowboys co-coach Shaun Ferguson.
"He's good for us," Byrne said of the ferociously competitive Ferguson.
"Having Big Bear (Jason Allwood) is good and Brett Jarrett too."
He added: "Hopefully we play well against Norths. Beating them would be great for us.
"They will be very tough, though. But if we can win, imagine what it would be like hosting a grand final at Dungowan. It would be huge for us and for the little community."
NORTH TAMWORTH: 1 Yirripi Jaffer-Williams, 2 Ashton Constable, 3 Misaele Vakacegu, 4 Jared Edwards, 5 Jeremy York, 6 Ethan Collins, 7 Mitch Sheridan, 8 Jake McManus, 9 Scott Blanch (capt), 10 Ben Jarvis, 11 Josh Schmiedel (vc), 12 Jake Vost, 13 Kobe Bone, 14 Liam Ball, 15 Jake Bennett, 17 James Cooper, 18 Tevita Cegunaivalu. Coach - Paul Boyce.
DUNGOWAN: 1 Trent Taylor, 2 Brock Morgan, 3 Tevita Peceli, 4 Brandon Parry, 5 Liam Mack, 6 Ethan Antzakles, 7 Matt Wilson, 8 Brett Jarrett, 9 Ryan Ingram, 10 Jason Allwood, 11 Josh McLachlan, 12 Pat Lange, 13 Cody Byrne, 14 Clay Frendin, 15 Zac Parker, 16 Lochie Collins, 17 Shaun Ferguson (co-coach), 18 Toby Taggart, 19 John Marau, 20 Clint Ridley. Co-coach - Luke Taylor.
