When Mitch Harding and partner Clarissa decided to move to Gunnedah, or back to Gunnedah in her case, the first question he asked her was is there a football club and how did he get involved.
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After getting the answer he was hoping for, pretty much within a month of arriving in town he had started training with Gunnedah FC.
It is a testament to the deep hold the sport has on the 23-year old.
"Football has always been a passion for me and my family," Harding said.
"I started playing when I was three.
"Twenty years later I still love it as much as ever."
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It has provided him with some great memories, none more so than what can only be described as the experience of a lifetime.
When he was 15 he spent nine months at Italian powerhouse Juventus.
"I was playing in a grand final and someone that was watching had a contact over there," Harding explained.
After what he described as a blur, one month later he found himself in Turin and rubbing shoulders - albeit with "a lot of wide eyes and jaw dropping" - with the likes of goalkeeping giant Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Del Piero and Paul Pogba, who had then just signed from Manchester United.
"The experience was unbelievable, the culture and their football philosophy is like no other," he said.
"I was very lucky. I think it was just right place at the right time."
Moving up from Sydney, where he was plying his trade with Hurstville in the NSW Premier League, about six months ago, Harding is enjoying life in Gunnedah.
On top of playing for FC, he has also started coaching son Jacobi's team in the local junior team.
"He plays for Daracon in the Years 9/10 competition," he said.
"I love it, it keeps me feeling young."
It is also a good reminder of what it is all about.
"It's good to see their smiles win, lose or draw," he said.
"That is the most rewarding thing, seeing them all smile and laugh."
There wasn't much of that around for FC last Saturday after going down to Kootingal 2-1.
Harding described the mood as "very sombre" afterwards recognising what a missed opportunity it was.
And things are only going to get tougher with FC set to face the top three (as things presently stand) in the next three weeks, starting with competition leaders Oxley Vale Attunga this Saturday.
The Mushies thrashed them 8-3 first time round.
Harding didn't play that game but from what he has heard is expecting them to be a very technical and physical side.
"I think communication will be key and execution," he said.
"We really have to have to execute what we do."
"And make sure we win those 50-50 challenges."
It is equally a big game for reserve grade, who sit two points ahead of the Mushies in second.
