Ian McGregor will line up against the best gridiron players in the country after being selected to represent NSW at next year's national championships.
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An Orange man born and bred, McGregor always had an interest in American football, but without a team to play for in the Central West, he instead spent his weekend's growing up playing for the Blayney Bears and Rams.
That was until one day, when he saw an ad pop up on Facebook for the state's Gridiron NSW Competition.
"I went away from sport for a few years once I turned 21 and it never really sparked my interest again until this popped up," he said.
"It was more about challenging myself I guess. I'd seen it on TV and it looked pretty fun to play, so I thought I'd give it a crack."
That was back in 2015 when he first strapped on the shoulder pads as a defensive end and tight end for the Nepean Ducks.
A mixture of work commitments and COVID cancellations has meant that the past few years, McGregor hasn't had much of a chance to don the helmet.
So when an opportunity arose to try out for the NSW team, he jumped at it.
"Usually over the years with the NSW team, if you turn up and pay your fees then you're pretty much guaranteed a shirt because there just aren't that many players," he said.
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"Now it's getting a bit more interest, so they've worked it that they're going to pick the best of the best. They held a full day like the NFL combine in Sydney for everyone to try out."
When the final squad was selected, McGregor had cracked the team as a defensive end.
Since then, he has been travelling down to Sydney each Saturday for training sessions - weather permitting - and taking part in two hour Skype meetings throughout the week.
The side were meant to take on the ACT and Victoria in a couple of friendly games in the coming weeks, but rain put an end to those hopes. McGregor will now have to wait until next year's national championships to make his NSW debut.
But he has higher hopes than just representing his state; McGregor wants to see the Central West field a team in the NSW competition in the years ahead.
"Over the years I never thought it would be possible with teams from Sydney not really wanting to travel out here. But they've got teams in Illawarra and the Central Coast, so the next place to start a team would be the Central West," he said.
"Out here in the Central West, you'd definitely be able to get a few players."
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