When the 26-year-old met with the Leader the following day, she revealed that she had bought a South Tamworth home with her partner, Kurt Hartmann.

It is their first property purchase, and it signals a further deepening of their relationship with each other and with Tamworth.

"It's great," Jenkins said of being a homeowner. "We're super happy."

In 2019, the couple relocated from Newcastle to Tamworth after Hartmann landed a PE teaching job at Tamworth High.

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Jenkins would find employment at the city's TAFE, where she works in education administration.

"We had 24 hours to decide whether we would move [to Tamworth] or not," she said, adding: "But yeah, I've had really good opportunities open up for me here too. It's worked out really well."

On Sunday at Kootiginal, Jenkins will lead the Roosters against the Kangaroos. It is her first year captaining the side.

Leadership seems to agree with her: she has been named player of the match in two matches in 2022, including a last-start win over Werris Creek.

The club has added immensely to her Tamworth experience - supplying her with a pool of friends and with an outlet for her competitive urges.

"When we first moved here, I said, 'We'll move for a year, and that's it'. And we're coming into our fourth year here," Jenkins said.

"But we're very comfortable here. We have a good network and good friends here. We're happy to stay around."

She continued: "Eventually we'll make our way back there [the coast] - just because we have family and that there.

"And when we have kids, we want them to be around family. But we're more than happy to stay around here for a little longer."

Jenkins and Hartmann - Kooty's first-grade hooker - met while working at a Port Stephens bowling club, and have been together seven years. They will marry at Port Stephens in March.

Jenkins has eight brothers and sisters. "And Kurt has a really close-knit family as well," she said.

"And then [there is] all of our friends; we've got friends back home and we've got friends here. So it's gonna be a big event - a big, fun party."

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