Dennis Moran was just 15 years old when he got his first call up into the Koori Knockout, as a last-minute addition to the Narwan Eels 1992 side.
"I still remember the day when Billy Ahoy come up to me and said to me 'oh ... you want to play?'" said Mr Moran.
"I said 'what? What do you mean?'"
"He said, 'do you want to play knockout'?"
"[I said] 'yeah alright then, come on, I've got my boots in the bag here'."
He donned the team's blue and gold jersey playing halfback at Henson Park in Marrickville, with Dean Quinlan as five-eighth.
Dennis Moran has played over 30 years of knockout football and is one of the greats of the game.
"I remember dad telling me, they sent a kid out to do a man's job," he said, laughing.
Instead of making him feel unsettled, Mr Moran's father's comment emboldened him, and the skill and strength he showed on the field that day was just a glimpse at what would come through his years of playing knockout footy.
"That really inspired me and I thought well I'm going to prove you wrong, you know?" he said.
Dennis (right) with his father Pritchard Moran (centre) Credit: Supplied
You get that blue and gold jumper on and you just turn into a man.
The Narwan Eels, from Armidale in northeast New South Wales, is steeped in history.
The Eels have been around for 45 of the 50 years the knockout’s been in play.
The Narwan Rugby League team is one of the most successful Aboriginal sporting teams in Australia.
'Alongside my boy'
Although the team hasn't won a grand final since 2008 — the Eels have won a stunning 5 tournaments in total.
Now Dennis Moran, a Narwan Eels great, is set to make records again.
, he's going to be playing alongside his son, Bayden, for the first time.
"I've been playing for 30 years in the knockout and to get the opportunity to play alongside my boy is something that we all strive to do," Mr Moran said.
Dennis and Bayden Moran are set to make history at the 2022 Koori Knockout.
"I didn't think the day would actually come that I would get to play with my son, and it gets me emotional just thinking about it."
At just 18, Bayden Moran is a talent in his own right. He was the captain of the First Nations Schoolboy's rugby league team in 2019 and played for the Penrith Panthers juniors.
"I’m nervous, but I’m excited to play, not just with dad but with all my uncles, cousins and I just feel like I’ve got to give it a good hard crack because it could be dad’s last knockout, he’s been saying to me," he said.
At just 18, Bayden Moran will be following in father's footsteps and playing his first men's Koori Knockout this year.
"I remember dad got hit across the head, and he jumped back up and said "you wait!" to the other fulla," he said.
"Next minute all the boys come round to get him off the field and he wouldn't get off the field.. two sets later he scored a try".
"That's when I thought to myself, I want to play this type of footy, it means a lot to me to get out there and just play tough, play strong," Bayden said.
Dennis Moran and Dean Widders lead Narwan to a memorable win over the Moree Boomerangs at the 2001 Koori Knockout.
"I don't feel like I am a man yet at all. But if I go out and get dad’s word to play I feel like that’ll bring me up.. and make me a man," he said.
The Koori Knockout brings with it a different level of footy.
"You've not just got to be a smart footballer, but you’ve got to have toughness, you've got to have that courage and you’ve got to be humble out there too," said Dennis Moran.
"You've got to realise things ain't always gonna go your way and you’ve got to show leadership as well," he said.
A young Dennis Moran (left) playing for Narwan alongside Derek Moran Junior (centre) and Derek Moran Senior (right). Credit: Supplied
"Oh definitely to win one, 100 per cent that would be indescribable, there would be more emotions than I could count if I could do that," said Bayden.
"You don’t give in no matter how hard, even if you’re getting flogged you don’t give in, to anybody, you just keep playing until that bell goes," said Dennis Moran.
Many people will also tell you, Knockout footy means more than just points on the board, but it's the source of pride the community in Armidale has in the team itself.
"You hear about it no matter what gathering you at, it always comes up some way or another, whether happy or sad, doesn't matter, you always hear blue and gold no matter what where you at, when the mob’s around," Bayden said.
And the pride in its players, like Mr Moran, one of the greats, not just for his sporting prowess.
"The things he’s achieved not just through Koori Knockout football but all the football, and just him as a person to bring me up, I couldn't ask for a better dad," Bayden said.
Bayden's father says he want his son to play his own game at his first Koori Knockout.
