Group 4: Thomas Woolaston hopes to earn first premiership with North Tamworth Bears

But few people have as good a reason as Thomas Woolaston does to be excited about this weekend's premiership clash.

The 33-year-old has played for his hometown side, the North Tamworth Bears, since he was 15. However, in all that time, he has never won a premiership with the club.

"I played in 2011 and '12 under Sean Ferguson in both first grade grand finals, and we lost both of them," Woolaston said.

"Quite considerably, we actually got touched up."

After the latter of his two grand final appearances, Woolaston migrated south, to Newcastle, for four years, where he won two premierships with Lakes United, then went north to Brisbane for another three years.

He only returned to North Tamworth in 2021 - a year in which finals called off due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

And in 2022, Woolaston sat out after a shoulder surgery to repair years of cumulative damage to the joint.

So when the Bears face off against the Moree Boars on Saturday, Woolaston would "love" to finally raise a premiership cup with the side.

"My family, my aunty and uncle, and obviously my grandfather are heavily entrenched in this club," he said. "It'd mean a lot to me to get one."

Woolaston's grandfather is Jack Woolaston, for whom the Bears' home ground is named.

The club legend has never been able to watch Tom, the only one of his grandchildren to still play rugby league, snare a premiership for North Tamworth.

And should he and the Bears emerge successful on Saturday, Woolaston knows exactly how he will celebrate.

"It'd be unreal, I'd love to take the trophy to Pop," he said.

"He's in a nursing home now, he's battling away, but I'd love to take the trophy to him if we get the win."

But Woolaston knows winning will be no easy feat.

Moree dominated most of the regular season and, despite hitting a rough patch of late, returned to form emphatically in Saturday's preliminary final against the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters.

"Luckily, they have to travel here this week, which makes things a bit easier for us," Woolaston said.

"But if they get their tail up, they're very destructive. So we have to start well, roll our sleeves up, and do what we do well, which is the little one-percenters."

After the operation on his shoulder, Woolaston initially had no thoughts of returning to the field.

It was only after he attended some training sessions following North Tamworth's 2022 victory that he rediscovered his passion and "just fell in love with it again", which he attributed to the "special bunch of boys" in first grade.

One of whom, co-captain Scott Blanch, is another relative of Woolaston's.

"He's my brother-in-law," Woolaston said.

"It'd be good to win a comp with Blanchy, we're very close. I don't know how long he's got left [in the sport], but I'd love to win one together win him."

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