Running into Mark Mori is like running into a truck, and if he runs into you, chances are you're going to learn what roadkill feels like.
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Go up against Mori in a marking contest though, and suddenly the truck can delicately position itself to ensure reaching to spoil the football is like trying to spoil the sun - impossibly out of reach.
The ruck-forward will line up for his first game for the Orange Tigers in their AFL Central West clash with Bathurst Bushrangers Outlaws on Saturday at Waratahs Sportsgorund, and the big man said he's "keen as mustard" to get into it.
He missed the Tigers' round one win over Parkes Panthers due to work commitments, but if you'd think after 10 years out of the game one more week wouldn't hurt, you'd be wrong.
I'm probably better at rucking due to my size but that doesn't mean I can't kick goals in the forward line too.
- Mark Mori
"I'm really keen to get into the game, I've got all this pent-up energy from missing last week's game so I'm going to have be controlled at the first bounce, I'm going to be into it," he said.
From Melbourne, the former Old Xavierian and Mount Waverly player said it had been "tough" coming back to football after a decade out of the game but was loving it.
"I've loved the social aspect of the guys around here," he said.
"Funny to think over 10 years the training drills haven't changed much but it's great to get back into it."
The game will also be the annual Byrne-Long Cup, which the Bushrangers won last year, which will add an extra layer of intensity to the clash.
Pete Byrne - son of club legend Mark, who the cup is named after - will also make his debut alongside promising young gun and GWS Giants academy prospect Charlie Kemp.
With many of the Tigers' bigger bodies moving on after last year's premiership, Mori will have to shoulder much of the load in the ruck and up forward during the season with Andrew Nelson and Caleb Campbell on shift work and Sam Neville spending time away from Orange with work.
Mori said the expectation he'd play a big role in the club was "a lot of pressure, but hopefully the pressure's a good thing".
"I always like playing up forward but I've always been thrown into the ruck due to my height," he said.
"I'm probably better at rucking due to my size but that doesn't mean I can't kick goals in the forward line too."
I'm not afraid to bowl people over and take those hits.
- Mark Mori
Mori didn't grow until later into his teenage years, but when he did he sprouted 20 centimetres in a year, turning into a regular sized footballer into an "uncoordinated" key position player - which Mori jokes he still is, but he learned to use his bulk.
"Because I grew so quickly I was to told not to be afraid of the ball and not be afraid to take those hits," he said.
"I'm not afraid to bowl people over and take those hits and as a big player I tend to get targeted a lot so I take them on."
But while he's loved being on the training track, Mori has enjoyed returning to the social fold of football even more.
First bounce is at Waratahs Sportsground at 2.30am, with the women's side playing a practice match against Bathurst Bushrangers from 12.30am.
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