Come the weekend, he ditches his Capital Football shirt for an Eastlake Demons jumper and uses his spare time to finish assignments for his masters degree.

O'Rourke will captain the Demons in a bumper top-four clash with the Ainslie Tricolours at Alan Ray Oval on Sunday.

The 24-year-old spent his Saturday finishing a university assignment but the prospect of making a statement against the reigning premiers was slowly creeping into the back of his mind.

"I absolutely love [the captaincy role], I’ve grown up in a leadership position playing junior footy and then translating it to a senior environment is a bit of a challenge but you learn as you go," O'Rourke said.

"Most of the side you’ll find is under 21 so things are looking up for us moving forward as well. We’ve worked on getting those juniors to come through and it is starting to come to fruition now and this is just the start."

If this is just the start, it is pretty clear to see what O'Rourke defines as the finish line: the flag, "that's the goal for the year".

"A couple of years ago we looked at where we would be. We thought we would be up there pushing around this year," O'Rourke said.

"Then last year we were getting up there, and this year we’re probably another year ahead of where we would be. We’re absolutely flag contenders, we can beat anyone on our day.

"Playing at a club like Eastlake where everyone has got each other’s back, we’ve all come through the ranks together and we’re pushing it all up as a tight unit."

The Demons will meet an Ainslie outfit with plenty to play for as they mourn the passing of five-time premiership player and former under 18s coach Scott Gibson.

Tricolours coach Chris Rourke remembers Gibson as "a ripping bloke and a real warrior of the football club" with the commemoration falling on the club's past players day.

"Ainslie have been steadily building, they obviously didn’t start the way they wanted but I don’t think that will have too much impact on them," O'Rourke said.

"They’ll be looking to move forward from that. It will be a pretty big challenge, these are the ones you get yourself up for."

Queanbeyan will host Tuggeranong to close out the round at Margaret Donoghoe Oval with the Tigers set to welcome a pair of future stars in Rhys Pollock and Bailey Greenwood into the top grade.

Greenwood is the captain of Queanbeyan's undefeated under 19s outfit and GWS Giants NEAFL player Pollock has filtered back into the Tigers system due to a bye at state league level.

Meanwhile, the Belconnen Magpies extended their lead at the top of the ladder with a comprehensive 53-point win over the Gungahlin Jets at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Friday night.

The competition frontrunners burst out to a five-goal lead at the first break and kept their foot on the accelerator as they posted a 13.5 (83) to 4.6 (30) victory over the Jets.

AFL CANBERRA ROUND SEVEN

Sunday: Ainslie Tricolours v Eastlake Demons at Alan Ray Oval, 1.30pm. Queanbeyan Tigers v Tuggeranong Hawks at Margaret Donoghoe Oval, 2pm.

AT A GLANCE

AFL Canberra -

GUNGAHLIN JETS 0.0 1.3 1.4 4.6 (30)

BELCONNEN MAGPIES 5.2 10.2 11.4 13.5 (83)