![Ainslie player Dani Curcio had the scoreboard at Alan Ray Oval named after her. Picture by James Croucher Ainslie player Dani Curcio had the scoreboard at Alan Ray Oval named after her. Picture by James Croucher](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/kDqE8LvSwvU8fyZkrZC97F/8797d651-2694-4837-94e3-5913103a2070.jpg/r0_36_8192_5461_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Imagine playing 237 games over 21 years and having no premiership to go with it. Well, that's exactly the case with Ainslie Tricolours' Dani Curcio, who will be battling it out for her first AFL Canberra flag on Saturday afternoon.
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The club legend has been at Ainslie since 2001 and has suffered three grand final defeats but will be hoping to change her fortunes when she takes on the Queanbeyan Tigers in Phillip.
It has been a special season for Curcio after she broke the all-time games played for a woman at Ainslie a fortnight ago and for that achievement the club has named the scoreboard at Alan Ray Oval in her honour.
She is a mixture of both nerves and excitement heading into the match.
"It's been just over a decade since I was last in a grand final so I'm eager to get out there and have a shot at winning it," Curcio said.
Ainslie booked their spot in the biggest game of the season a couple weeks ago after they beat Belconnen on the same day the club announced the scoreboard with bear Curcio's name.
However, the veteran has very little recollection of the announcement due to her getting concussed in the fourth quarter.
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"I don't particularly remember the club announcing it to me but I had someone film it so I watched it back later," Curcio said.
"There's bits and pieces of the presentation in the sheds that I can kind of remember but I'm absolutely blown away with the recognition I'm almost speechless."
![Ainslie has beaten the Tigers in three games so far this year. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Ainslie has beaten the Tigers in three games so far this year. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j2iwCiKfwhVWJky39Vsdpt/929f862d-c614-4bb8-a124-907eb192f422.jpg/r0_87_2060_1245_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Curcio is lucky though to be playing in the grand final on Saturday considering the AFL Canberra protocol surrounding concussion.
The timeframe for return to play is 13 days which ended for her on Friday, the day before the match.
She says she didn't suffer from any serious side effects from her collision with a goal post in the Tricolours' 27-point win over Belconnen, but was told to take it easy by the team doctor.
Curcio joked that it was easier said than done due to her passion for the Collingwood Magpies.
"The physio told me 'you're not allowed to get your heart rate up' but I had to watch the Collingwood game afterwards and most of their games this year have been very close so I usually get stressed," Curcio said.
"I guess they did me a favour that day because they weren't close to beating the Swans."
She has had to undergo four concussion tests over the past two weeks and has recovered better than she expected and is ready to go against the Tigers.
Ainslie is aiming to complete a perfect season after winning every match so far this year, while Queanbeyan is desperate to win another premiership after tasting success in 2019.
![Queanbeyan won their last premiership in 2019. Queanbeyan won their last premiership in 2019.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j2iwCiKfwhVWJky39Vsdpt/8c356ab5-f39a-448c-900c-edf919284e0d.jpg/r0_45_4032_2312_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Queanbeyan coach Chris Clifton says Curcio is fantastic and he's wary of the impact a great player like that can have on a side.
"Dani is quality and a player of her experience and knowledge is vital to her side especially for a grand final because of her experience in tight contests," Clifton said.
"Ainslie is a great team, they've got great players and although they've beaten us in our three match-ups this season, I don't think the results reflect how good of a team we have."
The game will be Clifton's last in charge of Queanbeyan after four years leading the women's side, with the coach set to move to Melbourne at the end of this year.
"It's a fairytale finish if we are able to walk away with the premiership but it's definitely not defining the work that the girls have put in over the last 12 months," Clifton said.
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