Loyalty important to Magpies mainstay Blake Clout

But the sun was at its unimpeded best, lighting up a grassy area behind the workshed at Thrift Plumbing Services at Moore Creek, and the brief time spent there was in the company of the thoroughly pleasant Blake Clout.

That's Blake Clout of the Tamworth Magpies, and formally of McCarthy Catholic College - a living, breathing monument to resoluteness.

Read more: Pieces fall into place for Clout

"He's loyal, he's dedicated. And when he commits to the cause, he's very committed," said David Thrift, Clout's boss for the best part of a decade.

It was Thrift who took on the 27-year-old as an apprentice plumber, providing himself with a valued employee, and a young man with a valuable profession.

Thrift has been watching the hard-running centre play rugby since his McCarthy days. Following the NSW Country Rugby Union Championships at Tamworth in June, Clout - who captained New England for the first time - was named in his debut Cockatoos training squad.

The 36-man squad will be reduced to 28 ahead of the National Rugby Championship.

"He's put in the hard work, and hopefully he gets a crack at it," Thirft said of Clout and the final Cockatoos squad.

Clout has been with the Magpies for more than a decade. He made his first-grade debut seven years ago.

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Since 2017, he has been in a relationship with Abbey Truman. And his most treasured possession is a 2010 HSV Maloo - its unmistakable V8 roar complimented by an eye-catching poison-ivy paint job. It's hard to imagine him parting company with the car.

Even his magnificent mullet looks like it's here to stay. While the polarising hairstyle is worn transiently by the masses, Clout has maintained his longer than most.

"A bit of loyalty," he said of his outlook on life, adding: "You stick it out, and good things come."

On Saturday, the last-placed Magpies take on the second-placed Baa Baas in Armidale. Clout is "pretty confident" the Magpies can finish the season strongly.

"We should knock off a few teams ... Starts with Baa Baas this weekend, and just roll on from there," he said.

Former Tamworth president Mitch Hanlon said Clout was a "great clubman", adding: "Every positive word one could think of, Blake deserves them."

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