![Mark Curry and Greg Arms. Picture by Jonathan Carroll Mark Curry and Greg Arms. Picture by Jonathan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gNecaFSpqFSLkittedmeiY/354122ca-fa20-49e1-a3c1-691d90396cdd.jpg/r1456_446_4071_1982_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
GREG Arms has fond memories of the last Australian Country Championships held in Newcastle over 30 years ago.
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Not only signing off from his own Bush Blues career with a title on home soil, but Arms recalls the emergence of local product and future international Anthony Stuart.
That same NSW Country squad - skippered by Mark Curry and also including the likes of Anthony Daly, Murray Christie and Tony Fort - will hold a reunion next week while the carnival returns to the region for the first time since 1992-1993.
"I had a bit of a brainstorm with Prawns [Curry] and thought why don't we get the band back together," Arms told the Newcastle Herald.
"It was obviously a successful carnival for us [winning undefeated] and during that carnival the Australian Country team also played against the West Indies.
"That was also the emergence of Anthony Stuart believe it or not. He went from playing second grade for Charlestown the year before to playing in the Australian Country team [that year], NSW the next year and Australia the year after."
Stuart, Newcastle-born Daly and Trent Johnston, who originally hailed from Wollongong, all went onto play Sheffield Shield.
NSW Country selector Arms hopes for those old Bush Blues in attendance to meet for lunch on Friday, January 5, before frequenting the current squad's twilight T20 fixture against defending champions Victoria at No.1 Sportsground (6:30pm).
"We should have eight or nine of the guys coming along," Arms said.
NSW COUNTRY (1992-1993): Peter Gerhard, Jon Henry, Trent Johnston, Anthony Stuart, Simon Doolan, Tony Fort, Glen Anderson, Anthony Daly, Murray Christie, Greg Arms, Mark Curry (captain), Terry Baldwin, David Marshall, Peter Rostron (manager), Cec Somerville (scorer).