And ever since then, the Tigers have always been close to the heart of club legend Bob Griffin.

Griffin is part of the intrinsic fabric of the Tigers, who celebrate their 90th anniversary at a gala function at the Canberra Southern Cross Club in Woden next Saturday night.

A North East Australian Football League match with the Belconnen Magpies at Dairy Farmers Park next Saturday will also be part of the festivities.

Now 78, Griffin will be found getting his hands dirty - literally - performing massages on the players to get them ready before they take the field.

It was a role he also performed at the Canberra Raiders from 1983 to 2005, making the transition after originally driving the bus during the club's glory years.

Griffin played for Queanbeyan teams in three different codes.

He started out in rugby union with the Queanbeyan Whites in 1955, playing at fullback before switching after just one season to Australian football.

All up, he played 151 games for the Tigers to go with more than 100 appearances for the Queanbeyan Blues in rugby league, balancing both for a couple of seasons.

The Queanbeyan-Acton side went through the 1956 season undefeated on its way to winning the grand final.

"I played in the centre and we had one of the best half-forward lines around this area,'' Griffin said.

"I was lucky enough to play with a fair few good footballers over the years. I always seemed to go back to the Tigers.''

Once Griffin hung up the boots, he became a massage therapist at the Raiders in their second season in the NSW Rugby League and also drove the team bus.

"I was there when all the premierships were won, but I get too nervous watching football,'' he said.

"I did a Test match for the Australian Super League side in 1997 at Wembley Stadium and I never got out to have a look at it, so I stayed in the dressing room.''

Griffin believes the quality of the NEAFL competition is superior to what it was back in his day, but it had come at the expense of local rivalries, with less Canberra teams involved.

The Tigers have won 13 first grade and eight reserve grade premierships and are the oldest club in the AFL Canberra league.

The NEAFL has a bye this weekend for the representative fixture between the NEAFL and Western Australia at Blacktown on Saturday.

Tigers player-coach Kade Klemke and Ainslie pair Sean Ellis and Aaron Vandenberg are in the NEAFL's 26-player squad.

The Queanbeyan Tigers 90 Year Gala Dinner will be held on Saturday, May 31 at the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden, from 6.30pm. Hawthorn premiership winner and Brownlow Medallist Robert DiPierdomenico will be the guest presenter. Tickets are $110 per person. For more information, contact Ron Fowlie on 0419 280 764 or email qtigers@tigersclub.com.au.