Canberra Royals captain and R U OK? ambassador Ben Johnston set for 150th John I Dent Cup game

They play for a tight-knit community, the Wollongbar-Alstonville Pioneers. So the news of Rhys McNaughton's death in October 2015 rocked so many to their core.

He took his own life a month after his side completed an undefeated season in the Far North Coast Rugby Union competition.

Johnston hasn't been a Pioneer since he was a kid - the Canberra Royals captain moved south to join the ACT Brumbies academy 10 years prior.

But mum and dad are still up there, so he knows the impact it had on the region. As he stopped to contemplate what it meant to his former club to lose one of their own, his thoughts drifted to Royals.

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What if that was to happen here? Johnston knew there had to be a way to have conversations, to show people there is support out there.

Which is why when he chats about the significance of his 150^th first grade game for the club, which comes in a John I Dent Cup clash with the Queanbeyan Whites at Campese Oval on Saturday, his most passionate answers come as he speaks about his work as an R U OK? Day ambassador.

"I saw how it affected that community and where I grew up. It's not a big place, it's quite a tight-knit community," Johnston said.

"I saw the effect it had on not only the club but on the community, and I thought if something like that was to happen at Royals, how devastating that would be, not only for the club but also our rugby community.

"I just wanted to put myself in a position where I could potentially change that from happening. We've had some really good conversations at Royals.

"I am really proud to say I am an ambassador for R U OK? I am really proud to have those conversations with anything who is doing it tough, whether it be at Royals or at any other club."

As much as Johnston wants to have open conversations, he wouldn't have minded in the slightest if his milestone game slipped under the radar this week.

But then a post on the Royals' social media pages let the cat out of the bag - so the spotlight will be on Johnston come Saturday, the public school boy who gives his private school mates stick about captaining them in the 15-man code.

It is fitting recognition for the winger who came to Canberra to chase a rugby dream and managed to fall into the Royals fold as though it was meant to be.

"I was going through the paper trying to find an apprenticeship. I had a couple of interviews lined up, and the first one I went to was out in Queanbeyan at a little place called Ellwood Detail Joinery," Johnston said.

"I was speaking to the boss there and told him my situation and why I was down here. He said 'who are you playing footy for?' He basically said 'if you play for Royals, I'll give you a job'. So I said I'd play for Royals."

Little did Johnston know he would one day etch his name into John I Dent Cup folklore when he split the Tuggeranong defence to deliver Royals' first premiership in 24 years.

"That was a pretty special game that one. The first couple of years I was here, we did it quite tough," Johnston said.

Almost five years and two more premierships later he is looking to help Royals break their duck amid a winless start to 2020.

JOHN I DENT CUP ROUND FOUR

Saturday: Uni-Norths Owls v Gungahlin Eagles at ANU North Oval, 3.05pm; Queanbeyan Whites v Canberra Royals at Campese Oval, 3.05pm; Wests Lions v Tuggeranong Vikings at Jamison Oval, 3.15pm.