There's an American movie feel about Jayde Campbell's life: shoulder to shoulder he works with his father at a small-town mine. And then on weekends he's league's version of the quarterback hero, as his father, Glenn, looks on from the sidelines - having played for the same team as a younger man.
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But this is an Australian story. Or more precisely, a Boggabri story.
Born and bred in Boggabri, Campbell - like a number of his teammates - dreamed, as a child, of playing senior football for his beloved Roos.
But it wasn't until the club reformed in 2013, following five years in the wilderness, that the 26-year-old halfback got the chance to fulfil that long-held goal. At the time, he played reserve grade for the Bulldogs, having "stepped up a couple of games" into first grade.
"As soon as Boggy started back up, I couldn't have jumped on it any quicker to come back out here and play," he said.
As soon as Boggy started back up, I couldn't have jumped on it any quicker to come back out here and play.
- Jayde Campbell
And there he has remained ever since - segueing with the side from the now-defunct second division into the revamped first-grade competition last year.
The No.7 has helped pilot the side to breakthrough performances this year, after a winless debut season in the top grade.
On Sunday at Jack Woolaston Oval, the Roos were beaten 46-4 by the Bears - having lost 84-0 at the same ground in round three.
On Monday morning, Campbell was back at Boggabri Coal, working as a blaster in the same Orica crew as his father. His older brothers, Mitchell and Chris, also work at the mine.
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Mitchell plays in the back-row for the Roos, while Chris is a former second-division player at the club.
Campbell's partner, Sophie Hendrie, plays in the Roos' league tag side. "We've got no kids - we've got three dogs," he said, adding: "They've [the league-taggers] come a long way since we started."
As rain belted down at Dungowan on June 2, Boggabri's long wait for their first top-grade win ended in a stirring 22-18 victory.
Three rounds later, they travelled to Narrabri and won 30-24 - having, in between those matches, pushed Gunnedah and Werris Creek all the way.
Since the win over Dungowan, Campbell said "you just feel the intensity lift up at training [and] especially on game day.
"The boys would switch on a bit better - knowing that we can actually put it up to the top teams, and put in that effort to actually get the win. A big sigh of relief really."
He added: "When we first started, we just loved playing our footy, loved playing second division just for a bit of fun and just to play with your mates again.
"But now we're starting to stick it in there because we know that the competition's better, and we've got to be better to actually beat them. Our mindset has sort of set on have a bit more of a go and be a bit smarter with it."
Currently in sixth spot, four points behind fourth-placed Werris Creek, Boggabri now have loftier ambitions. "Maybe have a crack at the finals," Campbell said.