Hewett Haycock had never been more nervous for a match than he had been in the lead-up to Nyngan's clash with CYMS earlier this month.
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As someone who had come up through the ranks at St John's and spent his entire career up to this year with CYMS, the prospect of going up against good mates and the club he'd spent his life with was one he never expected to face.
The two sides will do battle again on Sunday and there's even more on the line this time for the Nyngan lock.
"It's going to be good playing against the little brothers. I've never played them before," Hewett Haycock said.
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Sullivan and Fletcher Haycock weren't part of the CYMS side that played Nyngan on May 1 but the pair starred in the Fishies' most recent win over Forbes.
Fletcher has been named to start from the bench againfor Sunday's meeting at Apex Oval while Sullivan could still join him there.
It's going to be a special occasion for the Haycock family on Sunday, and as much as Hewett is excited by the prospect of taking on his younger brothers there's some apprehension as well.
"They're going to be cheeky. But hopefully they don't run around me. That's the only thing I'm worried about," he laughed.
While the Haycock family is synonymous with St John's and CYMS, the move to Nyngan has been one Hewitt has enjoyed.
After making the move to the Bogan Shire for work, the former title-winning reserve grade captain at CYMS linked with the Tigers and immediately went into their first grade side.
"I'm loving it," he said.
"I love Nyngan and playing footy out here. It's my first year playing footy with someone outside of CYMS or St John's so it was a bit different for me but I'm loving it.
"There's good people and good blokes."
Nyngan faces a daunting task on Sunday against a CYMS side which hasn't lost since round one of the Peter McDonald Premiership.
The Tigers have just one win to their name but have gone close on a number of occasions.
"We're a young side and the boys turn up and the effort is there," Haycock said.
"Silly mistakes and unforced errors are killing us. We lost each of the first two games by two points and I felt like we should have got over the top of them.
"Even we beat Wellington we made it tough for ourselves and only won by two points."
The effort has been something captain-coach Jacob Neill has spoken about at length this season.
The Tigers lost a number of players during the off-season and are relying a lot on youth in 2022, so attitude and commitment has been a focus.
"A lot of the boys haven't played footy together before and the average age would be about 23. Most came out of under 21s not long ago," Haycock said.
"There wasn't a lot of signings so it's a bunch of local boys but once it clicks I think we'll be right because the effort is always there."
That determination from the Tigers won't be the only guarantee on Sunday as some banter towards a former CYMS favourite from the Apex Oval stands is expected.
"There was a little last time but I'm expecting more this time with CYMS at home," he laughed.
"But I've got nothing but love for the CYMS family. Mum and Dad were pretty excited last time we played CYMS so this will be one for the memory books."
Sunday's first grade match will kick-off at 2.30pm.
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