For Mudgee Wombat James 'Fordy' Ford, there was no better way to celebrate his 100th game than with a 50-7 walloping of CSU at Jubilee Oval.
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According to club vice president Ros Lee, Ford is the 59th Wombats player to ever cross the 100-games mark.
Looking back on eight years of footy, James admitted he got into the game after a friend of his, who was also a coach, hounded him to give it a try. "I thought the only way to get him to be quiet about it was if I went and did it," Ford said.
"It's a pretty good club to play for, I think. You could go throughout the whole Central West and I don't think you'd find a better club to play for.
"I guess the camaraderie between the club. The mateship and I'd say it's just one big sort of family. From juniors all the way through to seniors, if you ever need anything someone's there."
As for the milestone game, for CSU late withdrawals due to COVID, three blue cards, a red card and a team that was already missing several key players due to other commitments - a set of conditions where 'disastrous' would seem like a gross understatement.
CSU's New Holland Cup game away to Mudgee Wombats last Saturday was already a tough enough prospect, and considering the endless trouble that struck the students once the match was underway it should come as no surprise that Mudgee ran out the winners.
It's been a brutal start to the season for CSU, who were looking to bounce back from a 40-0 defeat to Dubbo Rhinos in round one but it wasn't to be.
CSU coach Dave Conyers said it was the sort of game every coach dreads of going through.
"We had four blokes pull out due to COVID or illness. We were left with only nine first grade players so we had to pull players up from second grade, and we ended up losing five players within the first 20 minutes of the game," he said.
Mudgee have prided themselves on a strong game through their forwards, and up against a totally depleted CSU pack they feasted through the middle of the park all game.
This weekend the Wombats get a well-deserved rest with the bye before taking on Parkes on Election Day at what may be the final Wombats game played at Jubilee Oval. James likes their chances. "In our comp I don't think there's a team we couldn't beat," Ford said.
"Hopefully we can turn one on and give it (Jubilee) a proper send off."