It was at Wooli, an ocean-kissed village in northern NSW, that Pat Strong bended his knee and asked the mother of his two children to marry him.
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Pat and Amy, who met at the Whitebull Hotel during her orientation week at the University of New England, were married in 2014.
And at the Tamworth Touch Tournament at Gipps Street, Pat provided a snapshot of their relationship while also succinctly explaining what it means to be a parent in the age of inflation.
"If I got down on bended knee, I don't think I'd be getting up these days," joked the 37-year-old, who ruptured his Achillies tendon playing oztag in February but is now fully fit.
Clearly, meeting Amy had a transformative effect on Armidale-raised Pat. For starters, he relocated to Amy's hometown of Tamworth to be with her.
"The first couple of years was pretty hard," he said of the move.
"Obviously, trying to find work down here, and not having much work experience back home. Obviously, wanting to do more for my first two boys."
Bowen, 13, and Kade, 11, were followed by Alec, 8. Pat said "being a provider" for his sons was his biggest challenge in life.
"Because you're constantly on the go, always thinking future-planning, basically," he said.
"As these boys get older, they're a lot more sportier ... And trying to feed them as well. Obviously, very hungry boys. The cost of expenses like that."
Amy, an Oxley High alumnus, studied teaching at UNE. Pat said they became an item "a couple months" after their first meeting. "And been together since [then]."
"It's been good for us," he said of their union, " ... especially with kids, mortgages, cost of living these days."
Pat recently stated work as a project officer at the Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council, having previously worked as an Aboriginal practice officer at NSW Youth Justice.
Growing up, he was inspired by his parents, Veronica and Tony, and their work with the Armidale Local Aboriginal Land Council.
"So, obviously, [I've] been a bit of a fighter since way back when," he said.
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