Chad Lambert's rugby motivation reserves were running low when he moved to Tamworth in 2015 for a new beginning.
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They are now full again, after the 33-year-old married father of two rediscovered his passion for the sport - which he showcases in what is his first full season of top grade for the three-time reigning premiers.
The veteran flanker - who played a mixture of reserve- and first-grade for Pirates prior to this year - believes that he has elevated his game since player retirements after last season's grand final presented him with the chance to lock down a first-grade spot.
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He will again wear the No.7 when the resurgent Tamworth side confront ladder-leaders Moree at Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday.
Before moving to Tamworth, the cabinetmaker played for the Old Bar Clams in the single-grade Taree competition.
He said that joining Pirates was "quite an eye-opening experience, because where we were playing was a pretty poor standard ... it was a good change to play a good standard of footy."
"I was losing a lot of interest in the footy over on the Coast," he added, "because we were always short [of players] and we were getting flogged ... it's [being at Pirates] has got me interested in it again."
The move to Tamworth has been good all round. Lambert works for wife Jessica's brothers, Simon and Matthew Whiley, at SMW Kitchens.
The couple have two children, Lukas, 4 and Flynn, six months.
Kempsey-raised Lambert believes that he has played elevated rugby this year due to enhanced consistency, which he aims to display when fourth-placed Pirates take a five-match winning streak into the Moree clash.
The sides met in round two, with the Bulls winning 29-19 in Moree.
After thumping strugglers Quirindi and Barraba in their past two games, Lambert said the Moree clash would provide Pirates with an accurate form guide.
He said Pirates had improved a "hell of a lot" since that first encounter with the Bulls.
