For Noah Brown, it was a mentally freeing experience.
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On a sunny and temperate winter's day, the slightly built Tamworth teen darted across Riverside 3A as his third-placed Mountain Goats did what they were expected to do: beat last-placed Tamworth FC.
The striker - who turns 17 on Wednesday - scored a close-range, second-half goal in the 4-1 win.
It is Brown's debut Premier League season. And the importance of this momentous chapter in his soccer story has been amplified by his key position, his youthfulness, and ambitious Moore Creek's hunt for their debut premiership.
Despite that, he regards soccer as a kind of relief valve that, in his words, "free ups" his mind "from all the stress that's happening through the week".
Most of that stress is self-inflicted: he is juggling year 11 at Oxly High with a nursing traineeship at Tamworth Hospital and an associated TAFE course.
He started the two-year, twice weekly traineeship this year, as he eyes a career as a nurse or paramedic. He aims to get degrees in both professions, so he may end up working in both.
Unsurprisingly, Brown said his life was "very, very stressful".
"I actually have no idea," he said of the source of his passion for nursing. "I've been asked that question multiple times. I just love the excitement of it, really."
"It's incredible," he said of the traineeship. "The nurses up there help me out so much.
"The TAFE teachers are amazing ... It's bloody amazing. I love it."
Brown also loves the Mountain Goats, whom he joined this year after years spent as a North Companions junior.
He was lured to the club through his friendships with Charli Bridge and her mother, Nikki. Matt Bridge - Charli and Nikki's father and husband, respectively - is a Goats co-founder.
They are "amazing women", the youngster said.
He's very popular amongst the team.
- Dean Hoy
Brown spent time with the Moore Creek brigade during the 2022 finals series.
"And I'm like, these boys are amazing; make me laugh and everything," he said, adding: "I just got to know them so easily ... Best bunch of boys I could be with."
Still, leaving North Companions was not something he took lightly: "I grew up with most of the boys at Northies. So it was a very big decision for me to move to the Goats, a very big decision."
Moore Creek mentor Dean Hoy said Brown was "a massive asset" for the club and "a pleasure to coach" - someone who "gives 100 per cent in all he does".
"He's very popular amongst the team, and one of the nicest humans you will meet," Hoy said.
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