Ryan McQueen was a young pup the last time West Belconnen Warriors won the Canberra Raiders Cup.
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It was 2016, the fullback revelling in a victory that made winning seem easy.
Six years later, McQueen has led the Warriors back to the top of the mountain.
The West Belconnen captain-coach was outstanding in Sunday's 38-24 grand final victory over Queanbeyan Blues. The fullback was named man of the match after scoring a try and directing his side with aplomb.
The result ensured Blues captain-coach Terry Campese finished his career with a loss, the former Canberra Raider retiring after a decorated career. It also prevented a Queanbeyan clean sweep, the town having already won Canberra's AFL and rugby union titles this season.
McQueen was one of five Warriors remaining from their last premiership, while coach Tim Sloman also laced up the boots in the 2016 victory.
Now an experienced head with a greater understanding of how tough it is to win the Canberra Raiders Cup, McQueen was determined to savour this latest success.
"I'm going to remember this one a lot more," McQueen said.
"I really soaked it up all week. Being a coach, an elder player this year, I'm going to enjoy this one a lot more.
"I don't think anyone expected us to be here. At the start of the year, halfway through the year, two rounds to go, no one expected us to be here. No one expected us to win.
"To win it, it really stuck it to everyone. We believed in ourselves and we came away with it in the end."
A dominant first half set the tone, West Belconnen jumping out to a 4-0 lead just three minutes into the contest.
Queanbeyan had opportunities to hit back, however, the Warriors held firm before they turned the screws on their opponents.
The West Belconnen forwards set the tone up front in both attack and defence, while they also capitalised on a number of Blues errors.
A Jordan Baker try was the lone positive in a tough start for Queanbeyan, the side trailing 22-6 at the break.
Campese conceded the Blues were off the pace early, however, he put that down to the pressure West Belconnen applied throughout the opening 40 minutes.
"I thought our first set was our best defensive set of the year. Then a couple of errors, a couple of penalties, I don't think we touched the ball for 10 minutes," Campese said.
"Credit to them, they've done a great job, they did their homework.
"They picked on our outside backs, our lightweights. They were up in our forward's faces, they smothered us.
"They were too good. All you can do is applaud that."
Determined to fight until the final whistle, Queanbeyan worked hard to reel its opponents in throughout the second half.
Tries to Baker, Tristan Eldridge and Atunaisa Tupou kept things interesting, however, the Warriors had a response to every question.
William Peace's third try of the afternoon put the game to bed, the West Belconnen centre pouncing on a Queanbeyan error to extend the lead to 14 with less than five minutes left.
McQueen said his side was ready for the Blues to launch a second-half fightback and praised his men for holding firm to secure a memorable victory.
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"We knew that start in the first half would really set us up. Running uphill into the wind, it was a massive toss to win and we weathered the storm really well," McQueen said.
"The boys dug deep the whole game."
We knew the second half we just had to weather that storm for about 10 minutes and then we knew we'd come away with it, so it was really impressive."
AT A GLANCE
Canberra Raiders Cup: WEST BELCONNEN WARRIORS 38 (William Peace 3, Kylan Edwards, Ryan McQueen, Arthur Brown, Tim Middleton tries; Bobby Roberts 5 goals) bt QUEANBEYAN BLUES 24 (Joshua Baker 2, Tristan Eldridge, Atunaisa Tupou tries; Terry Campese 4 goals).
Reserve grade: Queanbeyan Kangaroos 24 bt Gungahlin Bulls 22.
Under-19s: Queanbeyan Blues 18 bt Gungahlin Bulls 16.
Ladies' league tag: Woden Valley Rams 14 bt West Belconnen Warriors 4.
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
