One of the great passions of Lavis's life is jumping on his Harley Davidson and cruising the region en route to visiting a pub for the first time and having a meal.

The 30-year-old does that from Gunnedah, where he moved to 15 months ago in order to reduce his travel time to work. He's an operator at the Tarrawonga coal mine.

The relocation from his hometown of Wee Waa has been a positive one for a number of reasons including for the resumption of his rugby league career, at the Bulldogs.

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Bulldogs prop Lincon Smith said the winger had "changed as a person" since joining the club.

"He loves the town, loves the Gunnedah Bulldogs and he's just all for it at the moment," Smith said.

Lavis, he continued, had also "come a long way" as a player this season - after previously being someone who could "hardly catch a ball".

Lavis joined the Bulldogs last year, having last played the game in 2015 during a brief stay at Parkes. He made his first-grade debut at the Bulldogs in a heavy round six loss to Moree in May.

In the last round, his elevated skills and confidence were on full display as he bagged a try hat-trick in a 26-24 loss to North Tamworth at Jack Woolaston Oval - a match that also showcased Gunnedah's improvement in recent rounds.

His parents Michael and Melissa, who live at Yamba, were at the game. "It was quite an exciting day," Lavis said.

His father had last seen him play when he was a member of the Wee Waa Panthers' under-18 side.

"He said it was a really good game," Lavis said of his father's appraisal of his performance against the Bears. "He said it was the best one that he's had the opportunity to see me play."

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Lavis said he had to "earn" his starting spot at Gunnedah after overcoming "absolutely atrocious" ball-handling. The side plays the Cowboys in Dungowan on Sunday.

"I feel I've gone all right - but there's always room for improvement, in my eyes," he said.

Lavis's rewarding relationship with the Bulldogs is complimented by his fulfilling experience living in Gunnedah.

"I actually like the town of Gunnedah [more] compared to the Wee Waa-Narrabri area," he said.

"I find, like, the variety of stuff [is better] - and Tamworth just being a hop, skip and jump down the road ... is awesome."

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