It's been four years since Simon Uphill set foot at the Forbes Rugby Ground and what a happy return it was on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The inside centre was instrumental with a double for Orange Emus in their 21-12 win over Forbes Platypi in the Blowes Clothing Cup as the bush chooks went close to sowing up their finals spot.
"It was good to get back over there and get the win," Uphill said.
"Obviously we knew the importance of that game, that gave the boys a bit of extra motivation going into it.
"We wanted to cement that finals position going forward with only a couple of rounds to go but didn't get the bonus point unfortunately - our set piece let us down a little bit and wasn't where it needed to be."
"But we had a couple of boys back from injury so that was great for confidence going forward."
Those back from injury were Simon Badgery, Charlie Henley and Archie Hall - three inclusions that could give the Blowes Clothing Cup a considerable shake as the business end approaches.
Henley and Hall are both returning off extended lay offs and will add considerable muscle to the Emus forward pack.
Uphill believes the pieces are starting to come together for his side.
"We're gelling at the right time of the season, we've been quite unlucky with a lot of injuries. I think there was 10 to 15 guys out across the club which hasn't been ideal but a lot of those guys have come back now so it's been good," he said.
"It's good for the continuity and we're really starting to come together heading into the last couple of rounds."
The inside centre added a solid game plan was key in securing victory.
"We knew if we went direct the first 20 minutes of each half it'd probably open up out wide and that's exactly what happened," he said.
"Gus (Angus Roberts) at 10 was instrumental in getting field position and directing play which created a platform to go wide after that.
"Louis Carr at 9 played well, he kept Forbes guessing at the breakdown, he's got a lot of energy at the ruck, chooses his runs pretty well and that helped us open up once we went wide."
And as for the last time he's crossed the white line twice?
"It would've been a while, I can't tell you the last time. I'll take any I can get," he laughed.
For Emus, three games remain in their regular Blowes Cup season with the men in green playing Dubbo Roos this weekend at Dubbo. The local derby with Orange City will follow before rounding off the season against Cowra Eagles at home.
Currently Emus sit third on 33 points, with Dubbo Roos (29) and Forbes (22) behind them.
To read more stories, download the Central Western Daily news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
HAVE YOUR SAY
- Send a letter to the editor using the form below ...