It was halfway through this season when Charlie Lennon made the decision to return home.
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The Red Bend junior was playing Jersey Flegg for the Canterbury Bulldogs and chasing his NRL dream but he realised he needed to get away and refresh.
Fast-forward a few months and the 20-year-old back-rower is a Peter McDonald Premiership winner with the Forbes Magpies and he can't wait to rip in when the Bulldogs' 2023 pre-season arrives.
"I just needed some time away from it all," Lennon admitted.
"To come back here and win a premiership with my home town is something I can't put into words.
"I wanted to come home and work on my game so I could be ready for pre-season."
The impact of Lennon's return to Forbes can't be understated.
The Western Rams junior made his first grade debut for the Magpies from the bench in a round 11 and scored a try in the loss to Dubbo CYMS while he was on the scoresheet again the next week against Cowra.
It was after that win at Cowra when Forbes captain Nick Greenhalgh realised they had a player who could make a real difference in the season half of the season.
"Charlie is unbelievable," Greenhalgh said at the time.
"I think after yesterday and last week he'll be wearing the number 11 or 12 next week. That's how highly we rate him and he'll be really big for us come the end of the season."
Greenhalgh was right and by Lennon's third game at home he was starting and while the Magpies lost to Macquarie that day, the young gun settled into his role and Forbes didn't lose another match for the rest of the season.
While Jake Grace and many other members of the Forbes forward pack are workhorses who grind away all day, Lennon added real spark to the Magpies' forward pack this season.
He was a try-scoring threat for the Magpies and crossed the stripe five times in nine games, with a double in the crossover win against Orange Hawks a highlight.
He also scored the first try in the win over Group 10 pool minor premiers Mudgee in week one of the finals and was a handful throughout Sunday's 28-16 grand final win over Dubbo CYMS.
"That's unreal. The Fishies were always going to be tough at home but I could not be more proud of the boys," Lennon said after the grand final.
The entire Forbes forward pack was immense in a grand final that was won in the middle of the park.
Inspirational lock Grace scored a double and was unlucky not to win man of the match while prop Jake Haddrill got through plenty of work and Brad McMillan and Marty Herbert ensured the intensity didn't drop off when they entered the game from the bench.
"There's some tough boys in there but every time someone goes off ore we get in a bit of trouble the boys seem to stand up and we come together and it's what we did today," Lennon said.
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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.
