At some stage in the near future, when Mitch Denning's broken thumb is healed, he will resume one of the most ambitious sporting pursuits in the region.
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The 27-year-old is well placed to win premierships with Pirates and the Narrabri Blues, who are both in second place on the ladder.
Last Saturday, he played centre for Pirates in their hard-fought win over Walcha at Ken Chillingworth Oval.
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Twenty-four hours later, he played for Narrabri in their historic defeat of North Tamworth at Jack Woolaston Oval.
He broke his thumb in the Bears clash, with the centre/second-rower expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks.
"Both coaches weren't too impressed," he said of Pirates and Narrabri.
The Tamworth High alumnus added: "My priority this year is Pirates. So any Saturday games that the Blues play, I'll play for Pirates instead."
Fortunately, the Blues mostly play on Sunday this year.
It was Denning's friendship with Blues captain-coach Jake Rumsby that was key to him signing with the club for the first time since 2017. That year Norths beats Narrabri in the grand final.
Another factor that persuaded Denning to sign with Narrabri was his friendship with Blues prop Caleb Binge. They played together in the Titans' under-20 side in 2013.
"So I thought I'd have another run with him again," Denning said, adding: "The body's getting old.
"It's not the best feeling when you wake up on a Monday morning, but I'm getting used to it."
Early into the 2014 season, Denning - then aged 19 - broke his neck playing for Penrith Panthers feeder club Windsor.
The devastating injury occurred on the same weekend that Knights player Alex McKinnon was left a quadriplegic after a dangerous tackle against the Storm.
Two years passed before Denning was cleared to play again, with him re-signing with Wests Lions.
After the Lions imploded in the infamous 2016 grand final loss to Norths, Denning joined Narrabri in 2017 and then Kootingal-Moonbi in 2018.
He believes that only one other player is involved in Central North rugby and Group 4 top-grade action in 2021. That player is Blues hooker and Blue Boars centre Jake Nichols.
Denning and Nichols played against each other when the Blue Boars beat Pirates in round three, then played together the following day when the Blues beat Boggabri.
"So rivals in rugby on Saturdays and teammates on Sundays," Denning said.
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