It speaks a lot about James Albert that in one of the biggest moments of his life, certainly his rugby journey, he didn't want it to be about him.
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Addressing his team-mates before running out for his 100th game for Narrabri recently, Albert deflected the sentiment away from winning for him, to doing it for each other and for all of those that have come before them.
Reluctant to be in the limelight in a footy sense, in other aspects he's not so.
The winger is one of the real characters of the Central North competition, his 70s/80s-inspired long locks and moustache giving the impression of someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and likes to joke around.
"Making other people have a bit of a laugh, it always makes you happy," Albert said.
"It tends to be at my own expense, they're laughing at me, not necessarily with me."
"I probably get it off my father, he was a bit of a larrikin and it's just who I am I suppose."
"From even a little kid I was a smart arse."
One of those people that others enjoy being around and is good for lightening the mood, beneath the jokester though lies one of the smartest footballers current first grade coach Craig Gleeson says he's seen around the club in the last five years.
"He reads the game very well, makes very smart decisions in attack and defence," he said.
On Saturday helping the Blue Boars to a 43-24 win over Gunnedah, the previous game was a very special one for the soon-to-be 32-year-old as he became the 101st player to play 100 games for the club.
"It's obviously a great honour to get up on the board with the calibre of rugby players that have played for Narrabri," Albert said.
"I know I've kind of been looking forward to the moment for the past few years."
Even in all of that, he never imagined it happening like it did, falling on the club's 60th anniversary weekend.
"I'm extremely lucky that it fell on that weekend," he said.
"It's definitely a weekend that I don't think I'll ever forget."
The milestone was reward for his hard work to get back on the field after doing his ACL mid-way through the 2022 season.
Albert admits he did consider packing away the boots, rather than go through all the rehab.
But by then he wasn't that far off the 100.
He also wasn't quite ready to give up that feeling of "being on the field at the end of the 80 minutes or 70 minutes and winning a football game with 14 other blokes".
It's one of the things he will miss most when he does finish up, which probably isn't too far into the distance.
The Monday's and Tuesday's after a game are getting a lot harder, he said.
Especially with a farm to run.
Predominantly cropping, it's been in his family for almost 80 years.
"My grandfather (Allan Albert) was given a settlement for fighting World War II," he said.
Albert took over the reins in 2020 when his father Peter, who also played for the Blue Boars, sadly passed away.
In Saturday's other game, Moree scored two tries in the last 10 minutes to pull away for a 41-33 win over Inverell and bounce back after the Blue Boars handed them their first loss for the season last week.
