Canberra Demons defender Ben Halse set for 100th NEAFL game

"I try and avoid Matty Vardanega, don't want to stay with him," the Canberra Demons defender laughs.

"He just talks too much mate, sometimes you just need a bit of peace and quiet and he is a chatterbox. But nah, he's a good bloke. All fun and games.

"It's half the fun [of the NEAFL], you get to travel with each other and hang out. It's always a bit of a laugh on each trip, I definitely do look forward to the bus trips and the flights."

Halse will play his 100^th NEAFL game when the Canberra Demons face Sydney University in a "do-or-die" clash at Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday.

The match could make or break Canberra's hopes of knocking the Students out of the top six and securing a second consecutive finals berth. That very feat seemed almost unattainable not so long ago.

"The first year with the Canberra Demons was quite tough, it was a new team so we didn't get too many of the results we wanted in the first year, I think we only won two or three," 24-year-old Halse said.

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"Then to see the progress over the past two years, where last year we made finals and won a finals game, which was a pretty big achievement for the club, and pretty exciting to be a part of.

"To see it grow from the ground up was good and pretty cool to be a part of."

The Students are the first task at hand for a Canberra side looking to force their way into the business end of the season - following this come a bye, fourth-placed Aspley at home and Redland away.

Sydney University have a game in hand in the race to the finals which means the Demons can ill-afford to drop points on the road this week.

"It's a pretty big game, probably our most important game of the year so far," Halse said.

"It's do or die with the two of us fighting for the last spot in the finals. A win is what we really need. It's going to be a really big game, and it's going to be a physical game too.

"We're building a bit of a rivalry between the two clubs over the past couple of years. It should be a good game."

NEAFL ROUND 18

Saturday: Sydney University v Canberra Demons at Blacktown International Sportspark, 12pm.

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY

B: 24. T Barton, 12. N Reinhard, 15. M Carroll

HB: 31. L Robertson, 3. A Gulden, 36. A Sierakowski

C: 26. W Sierakowski, 9. J Veale, 21. L Stevenson

HF: 11. N Foster, 14. M Krochmal, 17. J Stern

F: 33. T Banuelos, 19. T Davies, 32. E Cole

R: 22. S Tagliabue, 5. B Stewart, 7. J Bartholomaeus

Int: 6. S Barkley, 29. D Cordell, 1. J Hiscox, 16. H Morrison, 34. S Gilfedder

Emg: 40. M Belbasis, 27. N Coxall, 25. M Rogers

CANBERRA DEMONS

B: 35. T Highmore, 29. B Halse, 14. D Roberts

HB: 18. A Baker, 2. A Paech, 25. S Martyn

C: 20. J Harper, 6. A Smout, 36. L Meline

HF: 4. A Bruce, 24. H Carr, 16. M Hardie

F: 13. T Faul, 3. A Swan, 27. R Pollock

R: 19. J Maynard, 8. M Maguire, 15. K Evans

Int: 7. C Owen-Auburn, 9. J Powell, 23. G Richardson, 21. M Vardanega, 37. R Budd

Emg: 32. W Clark, 11. R Corbett, 26. N Eynaud