The ceasing of production at Whitehaven's Werris Creek mine next month has Beau Parry in a quandary.

What to do next? That's what the Werris Creek mine supervisor has to decide.

The stakes are high.

And at the epicentre of the 28-year-old's decision-making process is his family: fiancee Emma Bates and sons Cooper and Korbin.

Parry, who has worked at the mine for more than seven years, could transfer to Whitehaven's Maules Creek coal mine in the Gunnedah basin.

Or he could work full-time for his family's transport business, Pazztranz.

"So I gotta make a big life-changing decision," the Magpies prop said, adding: "I've either gotta go to Gunnedeh and stay out there, or we've got the family business - and [I] go trucking.

"Either way, I've gotta be away from family. So it's probably gonna be the hardest thing, I'd say."

If Parry chooses transport, he would be on his way to fulfilling what he believes is his destiny: taking over the running of Pazztranz from his father, Peter. Parry works for the company on his days off.

"The old man will slow down," he said. "He's getting on a bit."

Parry's elder sister, Kayla Hausfeld, and his young brother, Joel, might have something to say about their sibling's succession plan, however.

"It's a good question," Parry replied when asked if he was in line to take over at Pazztranz.

"One [Joel] works at the Zeolite mine here and has a lot to do with transport," he said.

"And the sister's the logistic manager at Stockmasters [sic] in Tamworth. So they've all got bloody transport in the background.

"So yeah, see what happens."

Parry regards his career-move dilemma as his greatest ever challenge. But rewind a decade and he was in the midst of another great challenge.

Ahead of the Magpies' trial against the Cardiff Cobras in Newcastle on Saturday, March 23, and the launch of the 2024 Group 4 season next month, Parry has revisited a time when the main thing on his plate was rugby league.

He was a Newcastle Knights junior. But those days, when he moved to the coast to continue playing for the Knights after graduating from Quirindi High, "seem like a lifetime ago", he said.

For Beau Parry, the call of home was irresistible.

"I'm a country boy born and bred," he said. "Love me pig-chasing and fishing and everything like that. So never looked back."

With the big decision looming, let's hope that remains the case.