KOORINGAL Colts batsman Nathanael Mooney says it could be his last season at the club for a while as he moves to Canberra to focus on fulfilling his rugby union dream.
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The 18-year-old was due to play his first 50-over match of the summer for the Colts against Wagga RSL on Saturday after returning through the Twenty20 competition from a broken foot he suffered while jogging.
That now looks unlikely due to lead-up rain, and the 18-year-old's cricket plans could be put on hold for the short term future after the current campaign after signing to play for Gungahlin in Canberra.
The talented forward will begin a secondary PE teaching degree in the capital and has set himself the goal of breaking into the Brumbies under-19 academy and the Australian under-20 team.
"If I want to try and play professional rugby this is where I need to be and I'm giving myself every chance to go as far as possible by moving there," he said.
"I've spoken to the club (Colts) and at this stage it'll probably be my last season for a while so I can really focus on my rugby.
"If we get closer to next year I'll be tempted to come back, and that will be a conversation I'll have with Keenan (Hanigan, captain) and the club.
"I can always come back if it doesn't work out, but at the moment I'm keen to try and play professional rugby.
"It's going to be a tough few weeks starting pre-season, but I'm looking to come back most weekends to finish off strongly with the Colts and hopefully get a finals berth."
Mooney spent two months carefully rehabbing his foot after breaking it running around Lake Albert with a friend in early November.
"It wasn't ideal, but it happened and I've been working hard to get back," he said.
"I slightly tweaked my foot which aggravated a stress fracture that's been there a couple of years, and it went.
"I've done all the strength work and rehab to get it right. After signing to play footy in Canberra I wanted to make sure I wasn't carrying it."
Mooney is confident the Colts can make a late charge for the top four in the back half of the season now their batting line-up is back to full strength.
Classy opening partner David Bolton is back in the mix after being away over Christmas, as it Andrew Dutton.
"Once we get a set batting order I think we can beat anyone on our day, if we all perform to where we can," he said.
"The performances haven't been where we need them to be, I think we all agree on that, and we're all excited for it to click.
"We're confident if we have one good game the confidence will come back."
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