On the cusp of his 45th birthday, David Mudaliar is trying to remain relevant by reinventing himself.
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Last season was the toughest of the West Tamworth batsman's career, and the penny dropped: he needed to pace himself.
The Inverell native topped the batting standings last season, scoring 679 runs at an average of 45.27 - by far his best form since joining the Tamworth competition in 2015-16. But his full-throttle approach took a toll on him.
"I looked at a few blokes, like Tommy Groth, and saw the way that he sort of paces himself a little bit more, and he sort of builds up to the back end of year," Mudaliar said.
As Wests prepare to meet City United in the preliminary final at No.1 Oval this weekend, for the right to play Old Boys in the grand final, he is feeling good and is keen to rediscover his best form.
It is the opposite of how he felt at this time last year, as Wests' season was snuffed out following heavy losses to Old Boys and South Tamworth in the finals.
And it is the opposite of how he felt earlier this season, when he was buffeted by a series of health issues.
First, he dislocated a thumb wicketkeeping just before Christmas, then he got an eye infection and suffered from dehydration.
He said the aliments were a contributing factor to his poor form, which started when he scored one run against Bective East on December 22.
Since then he has scored 53 runs in six innings, after scoring 263 run in his seven previous innings, from the start of the season.
In total, he has scored 317 runs at an average of 26.4 and with a highest score of 63.
"It was just an interesting time," he said. "So I just sort of didn't really train very much, and just sort of went through the motions there for a little while.
"But I was sort of always probably sitting back and hoping to save myself and come back with a bit of strength in the finals ... But I've got a lot of work to do to start contributing with the bat and making myself a little bit more valuable with the bat.
"So yeah, I've just been working on my game, now that I'm sort of back to 100 per cent [health wise] and can hopefully go out and hopefully contribute this weekend."
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Mudaliar has been buoyed by Wests' revival. They are undefeated over the past five rounds, including a rain-interrupted draw against North Tamworth in the minor semi-final last weekend.
They're playing with verve, and winning games despite their batting linchpin struggling for form.
Now Mudaliar wants to deliver when it matters most, as Wests attempt to win their first premiership since 2010-11.
