NEAFL: Aaron Bruce and Hannah Dunn notch 100 games

Hannah Dunn will become the first Queanbeyan Tigerettes player to reach the milestone and is eyeing a contract in the looming national women's league, while Aaron Bruce has experienced the AFL system and provides important leadership to the emerging Canberra stars.

Dunn represented the NSW/ACT Rams, who travelled to Adelaide this year to play on the famous Adelaide Oval, and it has fuelled her hunger to play on.

"It was pretty exciting, I would have just been happy to step on to the oval let alone play," she laughed. "It's so nice."

"It was good to see so many Canberra girls actually in that team and leading in to the 2017 women's league we will have a couple more names and hopefully, if we can, get at least on Queanbeyan girl in."

"I'd like to have a crack and try and push myself and see if I can get in the squad at least [for the GWS Giants in the national women's league], but there is a pretty big pool of talent out there."

Dunn's restrained confidence is evidence of just how developed the women's game has become.

"Even the first year players that are coming through the ranks amaze me the skills they have," she said. "Women's footy is definitely growing, back when I started it wasn't really a thing, I didn't even know you could play women's footy."

And while Bruce is playing his 100 game in the NEAFL, he has amassed nearly 180 senior games playing with Eastlake for 10 years before the creation of the Canberra Demons.

He has seen the many changes to both the Canberra football league and also the merging of the north and south NEAFL leagues, he said the present structure is significant for the relevance of the sport in the capital.

"It's important that Canberra has a NEAFL team representing the state-league level and I think it's important that we have a really strong presence in the competition.

"Unfortunately our team hasn't been strong over the last couple of seasons," he said. "The whole point of a program like this is to build that group up together so when they mature in their mid-twenties they're all playing really dominant football together."

Bruce is a rare asset in the rugby-dominated territory, where his role in the emergence of future homegrown talent is important for those wishing to take their careers further, and he predicts fellow Demons 100-gamer Jordan Harper to be the next to breakthrough.

"He's a very professional athlete," he said. "He's had an outstanding season, he has a huge engine, he's got really good skills and I think he's developed his inside midfield game.

"Some of our young guys have made some bold steps forward, Tom Highmore is one who has been spoken about a bit as a potential. He's a very composed player which is a massive asset in defence."

Demons player-coach Ben Waite will make his long awaited return from injury for his first game of the season this Saturday when the side take on the fourth placed Sydney University.

NEAFL ROUND 16

Saturday: Sydney University v Canberra Demons at Henson Park, 2pm.

AFL CANBERRA ROUND 16

Saturday: (Men's) Queanbeyan Tigers v Belconnen Magpies at Queanbeyan, 2pm; Ainslie v Tuggeranong Hawks at Alan Ray Oval, 2.15pm; Eastlake Demons v Gungahlin Jets at Football Park, 2.15pm. (Women's) Queanbeyan Tigers v Ainslie at Queanbeyan, 12pm; Gungahlin Jets v Riverina Lions at Amaroo, 1pm.

Sunday: Belconnen Magpies v Tuggeranong Hawks at The Nest, 1pm.

Wednesday: Eastlake Demons v ADFA/RMC Ewes at Kingston Oval, 7pm.