When Lauren Harbison first moved to Tamworth, she envisaged she'd probably only be here for a year or so.
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While she had always felt a bit of an affinity to the country, with her dad growing up on a property on the Tweed River, near Murwillimbah, she loved her life in Brisbane.
Tamworth was really just a stop-gap to get a bit of experience under her belt, having struggled to find work after graduating as a nurse.
"It was just very competitive for graduates and I just really wanted to start working so I applied for jobs in New South Wales and Victoria," Harbison said.
"I got offered one in Victoria but then I also got offered one here and I thought that's closer to home so I thought I'd take that."
Initially she thought she "wouldn't stay longer than a year".
"But I've been here for about three-and-a-half now," she said with a laugh.
Not that she can't see herself ever leaving.
In fact she did contemplate moving back at the start of this year, but in the end decided to stick around.
A lot of that was to do with her association with the Tamworth Magpies' women's side.
"I think one of the main reasons I've stayed is because of the rugby club," Harbison said.
"It's hard to leave something you enjoy so much."
By her own admission not much of a sporty kid growing up - she was more into music - through a colleague at work she started playing Oztag as a way to meet people.
One day her team was playing the Magpies side and one of the players asked would she be interested in giving rugby a crack.
"I was like yeah I'll give it a shot, and so I played my first season three years ago and then just never stopped," she said.
The game wasn't completely foreign to her, she'd watched her two older brothers play. But she'd never really had the inclination herself.
But she has loved it, even turning out for New England at the NSW Country Championships.
And she's now playing recruiter too with Bella Townsend crediting Harbison for her joining the Magpies this season.
The two work together at Tamara Private Hospital.
Asked why nursing, the 25-year-old said part of it was she wanted to help people and part she just "didn't want a desk job": she "wanted to be hands on".
Initially though she didn't think nursing was for her. She didn't see herself as "a people person".
But then when she told her art teacher what she was thinking, she told her "I think that's a great vocation for you".
"So I just thought why not.... and thank god I enjoyed it because I don't think I knew what I was getting into," Harbison said.
On the wards for the first couple of years, recently she transitioned to day surgery, which is "a lot more friendly to committing to rugby and getting to training".
After a bye last weekend, she and the Magpies will be back in action against Robb College this Saturday.
Hosting the students it will be a big day at Tamworth Rugby Park, being Ladies Day.
