Chris Geary can't help but feel proud whenever he walks into eldest son Will's bedroom of a night and sees him sound asleep wearing the red and black of Port Macquarie Pirates.
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The father of three is closing in on the end of his career after a near-decade involvement with the club, but if it's any indication, these soon-to-be old jerseys will get a workout in years to come.
"Will is obsessed with Pirates so he quite often wears my old jerseys to bed; he's the one who's keen to come to the games and run out with the team. He loves being at the football," Geary said.
The Pirates stalwart returned to first grade this year after spending the 2018 and 2019 seasons playing reserve grade as a result of the birth of Will along with three-year-old daughter Bonnie.
His last top-grade game was back in 2017.
"This season has been a good test to see if I've still been able to compete in first grade," he said.
"It's good to get back into the competitive, hard matches and I'm pretty surprised I've played every game. I've got four to go until I've played all the games and I'm the oldest in the team by a fair few years."
Ironically following the birth of another boy Sonny (now seven months' old), Geary and wife Sharni found they had more time on their hands.
It's now a family day out at Stuart Park.
"Funnily enough we've got more time on our hands so Bonnie and Will come with me and when Sonny wakes up, Sharni brings him down for kick-off," he said.
But he admits this year will be his last season before he heads into full-blown retirement.
"The body has had enough," he said.
"It's taking longer to recover and it's a bit harder to get motivated sometimes, but all in all it's been pretty good to come back."
This weekend, Pirates will host Hastings Valley Vikings at Stuart Park on Saturday as they look to move back into the top two.
First grade kick-off is 3.15pm.
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