It was 12 years ago that Jordan Graf emerged from his hometown of Manilla, settled in Tamworth and went about making something of himself.
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In Tamworth, Jordan did boilermaker and carpentry apprenticeships before becoming a commercial crew leader at Single Builders.
He also deepened his relationship with Jessica, a former McCarthy Catholic College student whom he met on a night out in Manilla in 2010. They were both 18 years old, and have been together ever since.
"It was just one of those things," Jordan said of meeting his wife. "Bumped into each other, and hit it off pretty well."
"Not too much of a story there," he added. "Just right place at the right time sort of thing."
Four years after that fateful first encounter, the couple wed. They now have three children: Xavier, 11, Jax, 10, and Alexia, 7.
If lives were governed by the spin of a wheel, Jordan got lucky. "It's not too bad, pretty good lifestyle," the 31-year-old said.
Recently, Jordan got even luckier. About a month ago, he ventured overseas for the first time.
In Ireland, Jordan combined a family holiday with winning: he starred for the gold medal-winning Australian over-30 men's side at the Tag World Cup in Limerick.
Playing in his first World Cup, he was his division's second-highest points scorer after crossing for nine tries.
He said it was "a bit of an eye-opener [being] on the world stage, adding that all the Tamworth players at the tournament performed well.
"Hopefully I did enough to stay in there," he said of his undefeated Australian side, adding that he would put his gold medallion in the trophy cabinet.
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Jessica, a senior stylist at Blonde Republic, was a non-Indigenous selection on the Australian Indigenous over-30 women's side, who finished fourth.
Thirteen years after becoming a couple, the Grafs' Emerald Isle experience was unforgettable for all the right reasons.
"The countryside is breathtaking," Jordan said. "I could sit there for ever and just look at the countryside."
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