The coastal town of Tuross Head is home for Tom Engelbrecht, but he spends five days a week in Canberra laying bricks and running down a dream.
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Every game is seen as another opportunity for Wests-UC's leg-spinning all-rounder, and he'll get two bites at the cherry this weekend as he eyes a state contract.
Engelbrecht will look to get his side's two-day Douglas Cup campaign off to a flying start against Queanbeyan at Freebody Oval on Saturday.
Then he'll back at it again when he steers Wests-UC into a John Gallop Cup one-day semi-final against ANU at Jamison Oval on Sunday.
But the bricklayer's labourer is used to the heavy workload - his average week proves it.
"Usually Monday to Wednesday in Canberra, and then after training I'll go home," Engelbrecht said.
"Thursday and Friday I'll just chill down the coast and then come back up Saturday morning, Saturday or Sunday [depending on when cricket is].
"Dad works in Canberra so he does the same thing. He'll work in Canberra until Friday and then go home for two days, and then come back up Monday.
"I'm looking to move to Canberra after Chrissy. Probably find another job and just hit cricket balls in the off-season."
Will that job involve laying bricks? "Nah, no chance."
South Coast junior and former ACT star Mac Wright secured a contract with Tasmania last year, paving the way for him to follow Nathan Lyon's path from the Comets to higher honours.
Engelbrecht is eyeing a similar future and he's got no shortage of inspiration in Wright and the lessons he took out of a national spin camp in Brisbane earlier this year.
The Wests-UC star found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson during a week that gave him a taste of elite cricket.
"For sure, that's what the aim is, to do what Mac has done. He's a big role model. Both leg-spinning batsmen from down the coast. It's a good eye-opener for us," Engelbrecht said.
"I got a huge amount [out of the spin camp]. Five days at the best facility in Australia with the best coaches, you're always going to take stuff away from that.
"It was great, a real eye-opener to where you need to be to play at that next level."
Engelbrecht has boldly declared Wests-UC would much rather face underdogs ANU than traditional powerhouses Weston Creek Molonglo and Tuggeranong in the one-day semi-finals.
But ANU have proven to be one of the competition's best sides so far this season and they're desperate to cause an upset against a "pretty confident" Wests-UC outfit.
"We've got our full team back so we're at full strength, against ANU who aren't - I wouldn't say they're horrible - but we'd rather them than Creek," Engelbrecht said.
"We're at Jamo, we're at home. We love playing there. Other teams don't like coming because they know it's not a great place to play to play cricket if you don't know how to play there.
"We'll play our brand of cricket which usually gets the job done at Jamo."
CRICKET ACT DOUGLAS CUP
Saturday: Round one - Ginninderra v North Canberra-Gungahlin at Kippax Enclosed Oval, Eastlake v Weston Creek Molonglo at Kingston Oval, Queanbeyan v Wests-UC at Freebody Oval, Tuggeranong v ANU at Chisholm Oval. All games start at 11am.
CRICKET ACT JOHN GALLOP CUP
Sunday: Semi-finals - Wests-UC v ANU at Jamison Oval, Weston Creek Molonglo at Stirling Oval. All games at 11am.
