Ryan Fenning lives just around the corner from his old home ground.
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And this summer the Ourimbah 28-year-old has seen it each time he departs the Central Coast en route to Toronto's Ron Hill Oval.
"I'm only two minutes from Sohier Park where my old club [Lisarow-Ourimbah] used to play," Fenning said.
"It's a bit hard sometimes when you're driving up to training and you drive past the nets and that, but getting up there [to Toronto] they've been very welcoming and the Newcastle facilities are great too.
"I've had such a wonderful time. The club is absolutely fantastic. Could not say a bad word about them, to be honest."
The Kookaburras recruit said he felt ready to make the shift in 2018-19 after claiming a national title with the Bush Blues at his maiden Australian Country Championships last season.
"It [nationals with NSW Country] was the greatest thing I've ever done in my life as of this moment," Fenning said.
"The way everything happened and the way we won it [the title].
"Winning all of our T20 games and then losing the next three one-day games and then needing the next two one-day games with double bonus points and then sitting there waiting for the other results.
"You can't write that stuff."
Fenning has also added a pair of Imparja Cup crowns to his collection across the last two campaigns, most recently with the NSW Indigenous squad in Alice Springs last month after debuting in 2017-18.
He only discovered his Indigenous family heritage around two years ago and said it was a "special" experience to go away for the annual tournament.
"We won pretty comfortably in the end," Fenning said.
"But we did a few school visits and that sort of thing. It's pretty special. These kids have got absolutely nothing. You kick a footy around with them or throw a few cricket balls and they've got smiles from ear to ear because someone's paying them a bit of attention."
The Central Coast council worker now has a chance to contest the Newcastle district semi-finals this weekend with Toronto taking on Charlestown at No.1 Sportsground.
The second-placed Kookaburras were bowled out for 40 by City at the same venue on Saturday.
"Obviously we're not going in with the best preparation, but it was a really no loss situation for us," Fenning, who has scored 407 runs this season, said. "We just need to bat time."
Fenning, who has won two premierships previously with Lisarow-Ourimbah, joined Toronto with fellow Central Coast representative Dylan Robertson.