Ben Maguire stood up from the bench, picked up and interchange card, and walked towards the sideline.
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The calls from Magpie Hill towards one of their favourite sons started immediately.
With things in the balance early in the second half of the Group 11 elimination semi-final the Forbes faithful need someone to lift them.
Maguire duly obliged.
The reigning Bob Weir medallist was immense in his second stint on the field and a surging run shortly after entering the fray put his side back on the front foot.
Hayden Bolam nabbed his third try soon after and, as they say, the rest is history.
Maguire wasn't the only Magpies stalwart to stand tall in the 32-24 win over fierce rivals Parkes.
Veteran prop Ben Robinson also kept his side rolling, while wide-running back-rower Brad McMillan got through a mountain of work.
"He (Maguire) and Benny 'Robbo' and some of the other older fellas really stood up and played well," Magpies skipper Bolam said after the win.
"They're a big part of our team and have been for a long time. When they play well I think the rest of the team goes well, too."
The Magpies' leaders weren't the only ones to deliver on the weekend.
Just 24 hours earlier, the Wellington Cowboys found themselves in exactly the same situation as the Magpies did.
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Both the winners of the semi-finals let two tries in inside the first five minutes of the respective matches and both overcame that.
For Wellington, bush footy great Dennis Moran was immense but there was many other moments which contributed to the win.
In the second half of that match the Cowboys were under the pump, as the Nyngan Tigers had lifted and while shifting the ball wide to rampaging Justin Carney time and time again they were threatening to eat into Wellingtons' lead.
Step up Aidan Ryan.
The Cowboys skipper and winger collected a grubber from deep within his own goal, knowing is he was brought down and a drop-out with enforce his side would be forced into even more tiring defence.
Not only did he escape the in-goal, he went on a trademark bulldozing run and got out to the 20m line.
The Cowboys fans all around Kennard Park erupted and the response from Ryan's teammates, vocal in their praise for the captain, was clear to see.
The Cowboys feature a stack of big-name players but coach Justin Toomey-White said the little moments from all his players make the difference.
"We've got amazing talent in our team," Toomey-White said.
"It's one to 17 blokes, they put in every week."
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
