Mateship is what the Belconnen Magpies stand for.
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A Belconnen brotherhood forged over a decade ago is behind the Magpies' run to the AFL Canberra grand final against Ainslie at Manuka Oval on Sunday.
When Belconnen player-coach James Bennett leads his side into the decider he won't be flanked by an ordinary group of teammates.
There's his brother Lexie, and blokes like Chris York, Dom Bunyan, Ryan Turnbull and Brenton Joyce that he considers his "mates for life".
Belconnen left the NEAFL at the end of the 2014 season and concerns rose that the club would lose those same big names.
But Bennett says "the conversation never needed to happen" when it came to staying at The Nest.
"It was just that we play for Belconnen, we're mates, and this is what we do. We never entertained the thought of going anywhere else so it was actually a pretty easy call," Bennett said.
"In a sense it was a hard decision to come back to just play at AFL Canberra level from the NEAFL but it was also the easiest decision we've ever made in that there was no other option for us.
"We just wanted to play footy together and chase that success as a group. It's what the Belconnen footy club stands for.
"It's a family club with a great culture and a really strong friendship base amongst the playing group. We're all friends and we're going to be friends for life, so it'd be great to have a premiership to share between us."
AFL Canberra's equalisation strategy has a player points system in place that effectively works as a salary cap, with each team allowed up to 38 points per game.
Belconnen uses up just 23 of its allocated 38 points, while Ainslie often have to shuffle players between grades because they sit right on the brim with 38.
Bennett and his brother Lexie are products of the Belconnen Cats junior club, which filters into the Magpies' senior ranks alongside a Belconnen Magpies junior club [formerly named West Canberra].
The likes of York, Turnbull and Stephen Coate are West Canberra juniors, and there's a split almost straight down the middle between the two junior clubs in the first grade line-up.
Bennett is desperate to ensure the proud production line continues and he's been sending his players out to junior club trainings to prove there is a pathway to the top grade.
"[We want to] let these young kids coming through now that we were them one day," Bennett said.
"That was us 15 years ago, we just stuck at it and kept playing together, now we're in the position we find ourselves in now."
Belconnen's last flag came in 2009 when the club played the role of the underdog, but they come in this year as favourites.
But there's a big crop of juniors coming together to give Bennett a sense of deja vu, and a flag will only add to the years of memories forged by the Belconnen brotherhood.
AFL CANBERRA GRAND FINALS
Sunday: Rising Stars - Ainslie Tricolours v Marist College at 9:30am, Second Grade - Ainslie Tricolours v Queanbeyan Tigers at 12pm, First Grade - Belconnen Magpies v Ainslie Tricolours at 3pm. All matches at Manuka Oval.
Belconnen squad: 11. A. Bennett, 6. J. Bennett, 26. D. Bunyan, 2. S. Coate, 19. J. Dowdell, 7. L. Haddrill, 16. J. Harper, 23. R. Healy, 15. A. Jones, 25. B. Joyce, 12. M. Kelly, 17. J. Kenna, 31. M. Mooney, 8. S. O'Sullivan, 22. D. Posch, 10. B. Talsma, 13. J. Taylor, 18. B. Turnbull, 46. R. Turnbull, 32. M. Viney, 5. B. Walker, 33. C. York
Ainslie squad: 19. H. Armstrong, 14. C. Barrie, 29. C. Bernasconi, 28. D. Bowles, 20. S. Curtis, 34. J. Cuzner, 23. H. Delves, 9. A. Harris, 18. J. Hirst, 31. D. Ledda, 11. J. Maynard, 12. L. O'Neil, 3. N. Paine, 22. B. Perry, 15. H. Phillips, 58. J. Powell, 8. T. Powell, 17. B. Renet, 1. S. Sienkiewicz, 55. J. Taylor, 33. M. Teasdale, 6. A. Wiles
