It was a close encounter with a "polar bear" that will soon get a lot more dangerous.
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On Wednesday on the Gold Coast, Tamworth-raised Jamie Trindall met former NRL star Ben "Polar Bear" Hannant for the first time.
And at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on November 20, the duo will battle in a charity fight night.
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The three-round main bout on the Corporate Fighter card was born from a dinner encounter.
Trindall, the former Oxley Diggers captain-coach, recently met Corporate Fighter managing director Josh King while dining out with friends on the Gold Coast.
"We were just talking about fighting," Trindall said. "And I've had a couple of Muay Thai fights in the past, and he [King] just asked if I was interested in jumping in on their challenge.
"I thought about it. And then the proposition of fighting Hannant in the main event come up. And I thought, Well, yeah, I'd definitely be interested in that. So I jumped at it."
The match-up with Hannant - who played 245 NRL games, and also played for Australia and Queensland - materialised after the 36-year-old ex-prop's original opponent pulled out of the contest, Trindall said.
Trindall, 38, is now training twice a day in preparation for the fight.
He won both his Muay Thai fights, the last of which was two years ago.
In February, Raiders star Josh Papalii narrowly beat Hannant in the All Stars Footy Rivals fight night in Townsvillle.
Trindall said he would give away a size advantage to Hannant.
"We're the same height, but I think he's got a few kilos on me," he said, adding that he expected a tough fight despite it being a charity event.
It will be pretty full-on for three rounds.
- Jamie Trindall
"He's a competitive athlete - he's not going in there to just put on a show. He's gonna go in there to win."
Trindall added: "We're both going in there to win ... It will be pretty full-on for three rounds."
Trindall moved to the Gold Coast after the closure of his Tamworth gym, Fitness Plus, in 2015. The relocation, he said, had been "life-changing".
"I've got a lot of businesses I've gotta run now," he said, adding that those businesses included two marquee-hire companies and a Sydney tattoo parlour.
He added: "Tamworth's still home, but I'd never move back; it's just perfect here."
After arriving on the Gold Coast, Trindall played first grade for the Ormeau Shearers and played for the Gold Coast Vikings representative side, but has since retired.
Now single, he is the father of 16-year-old Aleah and 12-year-old Nate.
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