The 33-year-old's father, Steve, was at Ken Chillingworth Oval last Saturday when his son suffered the worst concussion of his rugby career, playing hooker for Pirates in a win over Moree.

It was Steve who provided the template of the man that Collins wanted to be. His has great admiration for his father - who, along with Collins' mother, Therese, moved his family from Coolah to Tamworth to start a new life.

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The Pirates veteran said his father taught him how to be "a nice person".

"I think it's important to always try and do the right thing," said the sales manager at Pivotal Business Systems.

"It makes you sleep easy at night when you go to bed knowing you've done everything you can to do the right thing."

Collins was 13 years old when his family relocated to Tamworth. Steve - who went to Quirindi High and played four games at centre for the Sydney Roosters in 1982-83 - had been a policeman in Coolah.

But in Tamworth, the former Australian Schoolboy reinvented himself as the operator of the Almond Inn. He now works as a corrective services officer at the Tamworth Correctional Centre.

Collins said: "Our parents thought there was a bit more opportunity for us in Tamworth than in a small town like Coolah, so they made the move."

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He added: "It worked out very well. Loved living in Tamworth - we all have. It's been really good to us."

Collins has two brothers, Andrew and Sam, whom he has savoured premiership success with at Pirates.

Collins went to Farrer, where he played First XV rugby. After high school, he moved to Sydney and played colts for the Manly rugby club, and became an air conditioner and refrigeration technician.

He was in his early 20s when he returned to Tamworth.

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A self-described laidback, outgoing and sociable person, he met his partner, Amia McDonald, on a Santa Pub Crawl at Christmas 2019. The Tamworth Hospital nurse was from "out Gunnedah way", he said.

"She's very supportive with everything I do, and brings a lot of fun to it," he said. "[She is] very adventurous - and we have a great time together."

Because of the concussion sustained in the 32-25 defeat of the Bulls, Collins will miss Pirates' next two matches. The third-placed side confront the fourth-placed Highlanders in Inverell on Saturday.

"It's always tough in Inverell," Collins said. "We just need to stay disciplined and not give away silly penalties. Our set pieces have been a lot better, and we need to keep building on that."

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