By the end of last year, Lachie McGrady found himself needing a new challenge.
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The Moree product had spent several seasons playing rugby league for his local club, the Boomerangs, in the Group 19 competition.
But McGrady wanted a sterner challenge in 2024. So he signed with the Moree Boars.
"[Group 19] was pretty strong a couple of years ago, before COVID, but it's died down a bit now," he said.
"I just wanted a change. A couple of my mates went over, so I came over with them. And I already had a couple of mates there playing."
Starting afresh with a new side is often daunting, but McGrady is no stranger to setting down new roots.
Having spent his childhood in Moree, where he started playing footy at six, he elected to go to high school at St Gregory's College in Campbelltown.
Though he spent six years boarding at the renowned rugby league nursery, McGrady never really thought about pursuing the sport seriously.
It was "just something to do at school", but it did provide the youngster with a glimpse of a more professional environment.
"It was a bit different playing in the city, different to bush footy," McGrady said.
"It's a lot more structured ... it was good going down there and seeing the way they prepare for games and stuff."
After graduating, he returned to Moree and found a job with the Rural Fire Service.
It is hard work, he said, but immensely fulfilling.
"You get good satisfaction out of it knowing you're helping communities out, especially the little ones out in the bush where they don't have much," McGrady said.
As a country lad who lived in the big smoke for six years and now works for the RFS, it is clear that McGrady enjoys stepping out of his comfort zone.
In that vein, he has so far enjoyed his time with the Boars.
The club has been "very welcoming", and though McGrady didn't feel like he performed at his best in his debut for the Boars on Saturday, he did enough to impress captain-coach Mick Watton.
"The new boys played well," Watton said post-game. "Lachie McGrady was great around the middle."
Typically at fullback or in the halves, McGrady is happy to play "anywhere I'm needed" and put his pace and agility to good use in round one.
The 22-year-old's main focus this year is just on "looking to have some fun", but he does want to help Moree make amends for their heartbreaking grand final loss last year.
"It'd be good to win a premiership with them, that's the goal," McGrady said.
"But the main thing is going out there and having fun with my mates."
