'What the hell am I getting into?': The Queanbeyan Whites crew chasing a rugby dream

The road was flanked by shipping containers, barbed wire fences, timber yards and asbestos removalists and an empty junkyard with traffic hazard signs resting against the back fence.

"I guess you could say it was a nice surprise," the Queanbeyan Whites winger laughed.

Nestled amongst the industrial area is a two-storey brick building with a cast iron staircase which led Seeto to the front door of his new home, having moved away from Melbourne in December.

Waiting for him inside was his younger brother Yabaki Seeto, the Fijian under 20s flanker. So too were Junior Wallabies lock Zeph Tuinona and ACT Brumbies rookie prop Fred Kaihea.

MORE SPORT

This is the Ogilvie Crew - four Whites players living together in a Queanbeyan sharehouse in pursuit of a rugby dream.

The next step in the journey comes against the Uni-Norths Owls at Campese Field on Saturday. For now injuries will keep them apart on the field, but at home they're inseparable.

First make your way past the kennel housing three hunting dogs which belong to the homeowner's son who lives downstairs. Head through the front door, bypass the shoe rack overflowing with football boots and the "Fresh Prince of Belconnen" sign boasting Kaihea's face.

Then you're in the living room, standing by a whiteboard with the house rules written on it, and Tuinona's John I Dent Cup team of the year mug.

"Even coming inside, the house is very old and antique," Seeto said.

"The industrial area, it's so busy with all the businesses around here. It makes you want to keep going. For these boys as well, I'd say they feel the same way.

"I just want to stay home and live a simple life. You get to an age when you're old, have a budget and expenses. I definitely feel like I'm the dad of the house so I'm just trying to keep motivating them, inspiring them, encouraging them."

There could be no shortage of inspiration inside these four walls. Not when you hear of what Kaihea had been through before making his Super Rugby AU debut last month.

"Two years ago I fractured my ankle before Australian under 20s, and I didn't make the cut there. I had to get surgery. Through that, maybe three weeks after surgery, my old man passed away," Kaihea said.

"I had a tough time going through that. Luckily Beks [Yabaki Seeto] was here helping me through day to day, mentally and stuff like that. I went back home and it was a tough time, I couldn't do much around my dad's funeral because I was in the boot.

"I came back here and tried to refresh and start again, it was pretty hard. To get out there [for the Brumbies] and see them cheering me on, I will never forget it."

Now Kaihea is on the comeback trail following a posterior cruciate ligament injury. It was a bitter pill to swallow just weeks after getting a taste of life on the big stage.

But those close to him know this bushy-haired front-rower has the resolve to overcome adversity once more and blaze a trail for his best mates.

"Prior to any mention of him getting on the field, before he even got a contract, he wanted to get on the field and play for the Brumbies just for his father. We just knew what it meant to him," Seeto said.

"We all hope Zeph and my little brother Beks can follow in his footsteps and get a contract. Me personally, I don't have those kind of goals but I'm feeding off their energy and they can feed off me in terms of growth and doing what we love."

JOHN I DENT CUP ROUND TWO

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