Tommy's Yak: Cusack's column on the Brumbies' mission to make Canberra smile

That's why there's extra incentive to perform in a our round-one match against the Queensland Reds on Friday night.

We're throwing open the gates to volunteers who have been fighting the fires threatening the south coast and ACT, and raising money to help bring those communities back to life.

My family has a house in Lilli Pilli, but my parents decided to leave before the worst of the fires hit on December 31. Seeing the destruction and heartbreak they narrowly avoided was hanging around in the back of my mind when I came back to Brumbies training this year.

Being pushed to your physical limits at rugby training is nothing compared to what other families have been put through over the past three months.

So when we sat down at a pre-season camp in Newcastle, which was moved because of the smoke haze in Canberra, it was easy to develop our theme for this year.

This is our home. This is our region. These are the people we play for. These are the people we want to make proud.

I have spent my entire career in Canberra. I've watched the Brumbies at their best, sitting in the crowd to watch them win Super Rugby titles.

I've seen them at their lowest. Now I have a chance to help the Brumbies enter a new era, and we want to become Super Rugby champions.

Hopefully I can offer insights throughout the season in The Canberra Times.

We want to connect with Canberra again, and hopefully the way we play and the results we get will help convince people to start coming back to our games because I know from both sides of the fence how good it is to see full stands at Canberra Stadium.

Personally, this year is shaping as perhaps the biggest of my career so far. I was lucky enough to marry my beautiful partner Amy in December.

After the party and the honeymoon, it was time to switch focus to rugby. First is the Brumbies and, if things go according to plan, the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar has given me an opportunity to chase my Super Rugby title goals and my hopes of becoming a two-time Olympian this year.

But to achieve both I have to find the right balance, and that means letting my Tokyo thoughts drift until the Brumbies' season is over.

There's definitely a changing of the guard this year. Some of our most experienced players left, but that gives so many others, including me, a chance to step up in different roles.

What I do know is this Brumbies team is one of the tightest I've been involved in, and we are determined to make you smile.