After around a decade lighting up the North Companions midfield Nick Bowden was planning to take this season off, but was enticed to lace up the boots again by a couple of unlikely suspects.
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The 30-year said he was starting to get a bit stale last year and so was wasn't going to play.
But then a couple of Oxley Vale Attunga boys got in his ear, and now Bowden finds himself donning the Mushies' red.
"I was going to have a year off but then I ran into Higgo (Sam Higgins) and Searly (Ryan Searl) and they said a few of the boys are coming back like Purcy (Luke Purcell) and Fergie (Brendan Fergie) so I decided to come over," he said.
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An electrician by trade, Bowden grew up playing with Purcell for the Kootingal Kougars but really just knew of the others from playing against them for the better part of the last 10 years.
"I normally catch up with them every now and then and have a beer," he said.
His first game in Mushies colours was incidentally against his old club.
"It was a bit hard marking up, I kept looking for the wrong team," he joked.
As well as the new strip, Bowden has also found himself in a bit of a different role, playing at left back.
"I'm enjoying it. I'm not as fit as what I used to be so it's good to back there and building the way up forward," he said.
More noted as a midfielder, he hadn't played a lot at the back before this season.
"But when you're playing midfield there's a lot of coming back and defending," he said.
On Saturday the Mushies continued on their merry way beating South United 5-nil.
The damage was done in the first half with Jack Diebold finding the net twice and Mitch O'Keefe scoring the first of his double. Souths also conceded an own goal for a 4-nil lead at the break.
Bowden said it was a much better performance than the previous week.
"We held it together well in the middle and played it out from the back and just built from there," he said.
"We held the ball a lot more and just valued possession a bit more and it just came off that."
"They (Souths) were a good team, a lot of fit young players on there. I think they'll come still good."
The Mushies are one of now only two unbeaten sides after Tamworth FC were too strong for the Moore Creek Mountain Goats. The Mountain Goats put it to FC in the first half but the reigning premier league champions scored four goals in the last half an hour to run out 7-nil victors.
North Companions meanwhile had a 2-1 win over Gunnedah FC, while Quirindi beat Kootingal 1-nil to pick up their first points.
