EAST Wagga-Kooringal forward and new dad Brocke Argus is looking forward to returning to the field in time for Saturday's crunch Farrer League clash with The Rock-Yerong Creek.
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Argus was a notable omission for the Hawks in last Saturday's loss to North Wagga, missing the game due to this arrival of his daughter Aria that morning.
Aria made her parents wait, arriving 13 days overdue but Argus said her arrival proved well worth the wait.
"She came out eyes open and all screams, it's a surreal feeling," Argus said.
"People tell you about it but you don't fully understand until you experience it for yourself."
Argus is adjusting to life as a dad.
"I'm definitely adapting to it, you're not getting home from work and throwing your keys and wallet on the bench and perching up on the lounge, it's all systems go. It's been good. It's all worth it.
"I'm lucky I've got Tayla there, she does most of the waking up during the night.
"I planned on her being here a bit earlier so I've been straight back into work and unfortunately I don't get to spend a heap of time with her just yet."
Argus is keen to get back out on the field for his beloved Hawks.
"It's a massive game to come back in for," he said.
"Obviously last week didn't go to plan but that's full credit to North Wagga, they put the pressure on, they've got a good little young core there and they've stuck together through it so it's good to see they're getting reward for it.
"But it just goes to show if you let your guard down or don't play your best footy then anyone in the Farrer can run you down, knock you off or put you under the pump.
"The Rock are the form team and everyone's chasing them so it will be good to see whereabouts we are, hopefully we get a couple back, hit the ground running and see how we go."
The 32-year-old has spent more time up the ground for the Hawks this season, having kicked just the three goals from his five games this year.
The 2023 Farrer League Team of the Year half-forward has enjoyed getting back up the ground, where he established himself earlier in his career.
"I love it. It's good getting up the ground," he said.
"Sometimes you find yourself stuck down deep and if you're not getting the ball my ADHD runs a bit rampant and I get a bit frustrated so it's good to get down the ground.
"Blokes like Jez Piercy and Turns (Jarrod Turner), Jerry Maslin, they can rest up there and kick goals and be effective on the scoreboard so that helps that situation.
"Big Boey (Jarrad Boumann) down there is playing good footy so it's good to get down the field and deliver it to them boys. It makes my job easier."
Argus spent the off-season racing cars again and took some time to decide if he was going to play again. He believes the later start will help him get through the season better.
"It's been good. I didn't do a full pre-season this year, I was racing cars again and I didn't know what I was going to do at the start of the year," he said.
"I think just that extra little bit of time off let the body freshen up a little bit more, I came back to it and Baz (Jake Barrett) is obviously running with new ideas as coaches do so it's been back to square one, the boys have been enjoying it.
"We've been getting some decent numbers at training and the boys are all putting the work in, we've just been having a bad run with injuries and people out at the moment so it doesn't really show the results of how we started the season.
"It's a long footy season as everyone knows so we've just got to stick to our guns and go from there."
