But there was a part of him that questioned his decision to play on this season, after spending the afternoon being pulverised by a malign sun, as if a magnifying glass had hovered over his head.

Flush of face post-match, on a day when the mercury almost reached 38 degrees Celsius, the 28-year-old spoke of being “conned” into playing this season.

Prior to the start of the season, he had returned to Tamworth with his wife, Ruth, and their baby, Isabella.

He had played first grade and second grade for St George in Sydney, his dream of representing Australia unfulfilled. 

“[It’s] great to be back home with family and friends,” he said. “They’re the main reason why I played one more year. I was gonna hang up the boots but they conned me into it.”

He added: “Like everyone, you go down there [Sydney] with the hopes to play at the highest level.

“But a few injuries here and there probably stopped that pretty quickly. I got a fair bit out of it, anyway.”

Old Boys, the competition leaders, won the toss and batted – restricted to 9-174 off 40 overs. 

James Hammond (3-29 off six overs) and Troy Osborne (2-27 off eight overs) were the pick of Souths’ bowlers.

Old Boys skipper Ben Middlebrook top-scored with an 84-ball, unbeaten 63.

Josh Crow (35) was next best with the bat for Souths, while Chris Skilton (33) also provided Fitzgerald with good support.

Souths’ fourth win of the season lifted them to third on the ladder, less than a point behind second-placed West Tamworth and less than seven points behind Old Boys.

Fitzgerald said: “It’s always good to get runs against Old Boys. They’re the target for the grade comp here. So it’s always good to get runs and get the win over them.”