Considering his great uncle Jack was a founding member and will forever remain an out-and-out legend of the Orange City Rugby Club, it's somewhat surprising to hear 2019 is actually Lachie Blunt's first full season at the Lions' den.
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He did don the fabled orange and green "a handful of times" through juniors but for the most part his formative years were with Kinross and then Kings, where he went to school, before moving on and spending a number of seasons at CSU Bathurst.
But his recent move back to the central west from Sydney gave the 29-year-old centre a chance to finally link full-time with the club his family name is synonymous with, and he's firmly entrenched himself at Pride Park since.
I was tempted to play for Emus ... I'd have probably been dragged over the coals if I didn't play for the Lions.
- Orange City centre Lachie Blunt
Although with Emus currently a hot spot for CSU old boys, Blunt did admit there was temptation to roll into Endeavour Oval this year instead.
"With the move back and a lot of mates there I definitely considered it, I was tempted to play for Emus but Orange City's a tradition in my family, I'd have probably been dragged over the coals if I didn't play for the Lions," Blunt laughed, ahead of his side's Blowes Clothing Cup trip to Dubbo to face the Kangaroos on Saturday.
"I only played with Orange City a handful of times through juniors during the school holidays but there was always an allegiance, I guess you'd say, and it's been really good to be able to come into the club for my first full season."
Granted that first full season hasn't reaped much reward for Blunt's Lions in terms of results - they remain winless heading into the last three weeks of the regular season - but with the bigger in mind, he said that hasn't detracted from the positive steps the club has taken this year.
"I wasn't here last year so I obviously can't comment on what it was like, but from what I've heard and what I've seen it looks like there's been a monumental shift in the mindset of the players, and the club too," he explained.
"I think that all stemmed from a meeting we had at the start of the year. (Lions coach) Viv Paasi was quite gentle in his approach to the season in terms of results and there wasn't any pressure on the playing group, but he did really drive into us what he wanted in terms of the standards we hold for ourselves and the values we have,.
"It was mainly about us turning up for each other at training and games, maintaining that discipline and being committed to the club and in particular the junior teams and players. They're the club's future after all, that longevity is really important and being involved there gives our playing group a bit more maturity and seniority, which we can build on next year.
"We haven't achieved what we've wanted to results wise but the vibe and culture at the club now is still really great, I think that puts us in a pretty good spot to have some success in 2020, and beyond."
The Lions' gaze may has shifted to the long-term to a degree, but Blunt said there'll be no passive performances in their final three games of 2019. They can't make the finals but they can play a spoiling role if they cause an upset or two, but he said there's more to it even than that.
"There's building and there's spoiling, our think our motivation is a bit of both and we're not going to be passive in the last few games at all, we're still very much committed to each other and we want to play our best rugby," he said.
"But we're really committed to rest of the club and the supporters who show up every week too, you know, we want to be putting on a show for them and we've got one more game at home and a local derby left to do that in.
"Even looking at last week on our sponsors' day, the scoreline was pretty diabolical but we stayed positive and kept our heads up and finished on a positive note with a try, and the broader community at the club appreciates that.
"It's as much a respect thing for us in that regard, respecting what those supporters do for us and for the club and trying to repay them with our best on the field."
One highlight of 2019, for Blunt, has been rekindling his combination with fellow recruit Jesse Pavlovich.
The duo played plenty of rugby together at CSU and actually lived together during their time at university as well, and while Pavlovich moved to Orange a couple of years ago he's only joined the Lions full-time this year as well.
"Pav, he's one of those blokes that is incredibly loyal and will always turn up for his mates," Blunt said.
"He's very, very committed to things when he puts his mind to it and it was really good to see him rock along to training and play this year, he's certainly had a massive impact around the club."
Orange City take on the fourth-placed Roos at No.1 Oval on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at 3.15pm. The Lions had yet to confirm their starting XV at time of publication.
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