SATURDAY'S National Rugby Championship (NRC) match between the Country Eagles and Perth Spirit was a homecoming of sorts for Will Weeks.
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The Eagles 22-year-old replacement hooker hails from Lightning Ridge and you could not wipe the smile from his face after he had the chance to ply his trade in front of family and friends.
After spending his early days playing league and union in his home town, Weeks earned his breakthrough while attending renowned rugby school St Ignatius College, Riverview.
But he hasn't forgotten his roots, especially with his parents Paul and Sally still living in 'The Ridge'.
"Mum and dad are still out there. Mum runs a little newsagency in town and dad has a concreting business and they were vital to getting me into footy when I was little," Weeks said.
"It wasn't easy out there. I only played a couple of years of rugby but you'd have to travel a lot in order to find a game.
"I played a lot of league and you'd have to go to places like Moree or Dubbo for round-robins and knockouts but it was good fun.
"To come back here and play tonight has been great. I've got friends in Dubbo, mum and dad have come down from Lightning Ridge and I've got relatives in Orange and Bathurst as well so I really enjoyed being able to come out here and represent NSW Country."
After completing his schooling, Weeks got his big breakthrough when former Wallaby Scott Fava pushed him into grade football with Northern Suburbs.
From there he has progressed into the NRC competition and he has designs of taking rugby as far as he can.
"Coming from the bush into a GPS school was hard initially but once I settled in there and got noticed things progressed and I moved into Colts with Norths and then the national academy and Australian under-20s," Weeks said.
"Then it's been first grade and now into the NRC, and hopefully from this it can be a launching pad into a Super Rugby franchise.
"It's difficult at hooker, it's really a position where they look for leadership and you don't peak in the position until later in your career.
"I'm using this competition as a real learning experience. Having guys like Stephen Hoiles and Brendan McKibbin in the squad has been great.
"Coming from bush football originally, to get here and be able to learn from a guy like 'Hoilesy' has been massive. I just go to training and learn something from him every session so it's been terrific.
"I've done a graphic design course as a bit of a back-up if rugby falls over but I'm keen to take my football as far as I can."