Still grieving the loss of son and brother Joshua Connell after a tragic accident while the 19-year-old was on holiday in Thailand, the family were moved by the response from every level of the AFL Canberra community - especially from his beloved Belconnen Magpies.

The former Magpies junior was honoured on Saturday, highlighting the mark he left on the local footy scene.

Connell's brother Talon was playing in the under-15s just days after his sudden passing. Before the match Belconnen's opposition, Eastlake Demons, walked towards the Magpies dressing sheds and embraced the youngster.

A moment of silence before the game followed and players came up to Connell's family to share their condolences. Talon scored two goals in the 56-point win for the Magpies.

Then across the Magpies' men's and women's weekend fixtures, black armbands were worn in memory of Connell.

On Sunday his sister Torkieah - whose name was lovingly created by Connell as a child - will be in action in the under-14s against Weston Creek. After such an unfathomable loss they are doing their best to stay strong and honour him with their Belconnen football family rallying around them.

"He just loved being at Belconnen footy club," first-grade Magpies captain-coach James Bennett said of Connell after their 8.9 (57) - 6.7 (43) win over Ainslie at The Nest.

"We're really feeling for the family. There's lots of people hurting this week and it's been challenging.

"Hopefully there's a little bit of Josh in our performance. I know the guys were really motivated to have a good game for him and his family and show them how much we care about him."

Bennett said the team also had a moment of silence at their training session on Thursday when they were informed of Connell's death.

"He played under-18s previously, and reserve-grade and third-grade this year," Bennett said.

"He's come from juniors into the seniors and been around our senior group for a couple of years now. So we all know him.

"He had a real passion for life and the footy club. We hope we can provide support to the family and friends over the next few weeks."

Belconnen club president Scott Reid said less than a month ago Josh played his last match in third-grade before travelling overseas. He said that the club are taking steps to provide support to those struggling in addition to the family after the tragedy.

"Josh epitomises what we all love about being involved in community football with his spirit and nature. He was someone we were extremely proud to call a Belconnen person," Reid said.

"It's rocked us. It's really rocked us. How we process this as a club is just identifying the members that are really feeling the loss, and then trying to get around them so that they can get through this.

"We all need to embrace his family and all need to show them that we're there for them."

Family friends of the Connells have set up a Go Fund Me page to get assistance in bringing the teenager's body back from Thailand to Australia, and the Magpies are also planning to provide support.

"We're working with the family to try and work out what the best way forward," Reid said.

"We'll definitely be supporting them in whatever way we can to make sure they are able to farewell their son in the manner they'd like."

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