It's been over five years since Emus' hooker Charlie Henley had a taste of representative rugby, but the former Blue Giant is officially a Blue Bull ahead of Central West's Country Championships title defence at Tamworth on June 12-13.
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The bulldozing Henley will head north with teammates Lachie Harris and Shahid Khalfan as the duo also stood out in the eyes of coach Dean Oxley.
It didn't run in 2020, but the last time Oxley's men played this competition, they won it. And while it adds a bit of extra pressure for Henley, it won't change the way the hooker goes about his business over the weekend.
"You want to win every line-out and win every scrum," Henley said.
"I've just got to make my mark and take control of the set piece. I'm pretty excited. It's always good to play at that next level and there's going to be quality players all around the park."
Henley's naturally excited to travel and play with Harris and Khalfan, but there's two blokes from Forbes who he's keen to join forces with.
"It's going to be really good to be on the same side as Charlie French," he said.
"And also Mahe [Fangupo]. The way he controls the game, he's always so dangerous to play against so it'll be good to be with him this time."
As for Khalfan and Harris, Henley isn't the slightest bit surprised they both get Blue Bulls jerseys.
"I've played with Jamil [Khalfan] ever since I came to Orange and I'd always heard about his brother," he said.
"I knew we were getting a very decent half this season and he's been as soon as advertised for us."
"And Harris is unreal. You can chuck him in at 12 or 13 and he'll just float around. He runs hard and he's super quick."
And, even though Henley appreciates what kind of a toll the club competition can take on your body, he's feeling pretty good at the half way point of the season.
"I've been able to manage fatigue fairly well this year and I'm feeling pretty good coming into the weekend," he said.
Orange City's Josh Tremain was also recognised for his form in 2021. He'll represent the region at Tamworth as well.