It was a memorable moment years in the making.
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Thrust into Pirates' starting lineup after an injury to a teammate, Isaac Moxon's first-grade run-on debut came in his fifth season at the powerhouse club.
And the 24-year-old did it at hooker, a position he'd previously had virtually no game-time experience playing.
But after a 70-minute stint in the No. 2 in a 36-15 defeat of Inverell at a sunny and cold Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday, July 13, he hopes to keep his spot.
"Everyone said I had a blinder, but I don't know if I'd call it that," he said. "But I thought I did my job, and that's what I wanted to do; just make a bit of a statement and do my job."
Moxon described the test as probably the greatest challenge of his life.
"I've always played in the back-rower: six, seven or eight," he said. "So the move to two was a bit unorthodox, a bit different, but it was good to experience it."
He continued: "It's been really good. All the boys have gotten around it and helped celebrate it.
"It was good to share the debut with a couple of other boys who played in the front-row - had their 50th games [Michael Purtle and Jioji Cakacaka]."
Moxon said he "tried to be a bit calm and just take it as any other game".
"But I think it hit me as soon as I ran out," he said, adding that taking the field left him feeling "pretty ecstatic".
The electrician, a Tamworth High alumnus, joined Pirates after playing for North Tamworth's under-18 side in 2018.
Moxon loves his job - and enjoys fishing and camping with family and friends, as well as "chasing the dog".
He stays fit in the off-season by playing water polo for Southgate. Making a NSW Combined High Schools water polo team is his greatest achievement.
Third-placed Pirates, who are on a three-game running run, finish the regular season with three matches on the road. They play Quirindi this Saturday, July 20.
"If the coaches are happy with that performance [against Inverell] and they wanna keep me there, I'll hang there," Moxon said.