AFL Canberra grand final: Belconnen Magpies' Bennett brothers get their moment against Ainslie

So when Belconnen's brothers take a sip out of the AFL Canberra premiership cup for the first time in 14 years, you wonder if this is finally the end of the road.

Lexie tells you point blank, it's time to hang up the boots. A grand final win over the Ainslie Tricolours at Phillip Oval on Saturday marks the perfect time to bow out.

Especially considering Belconnen's 10.11 (71) to 4.8 (32) win ends years of heartbreak punctuated by five grand final losses.

But as James walks off the field with someone telling him it's been a pleasure to watch him play, he starts to think he could get used to this feeling. Maybe he's not done yet.

"I'm smart enough to not make emotional decisions, but you could feel that feeling for another couple of years and it would be great. But yeah, getting pretty old," Jesaulenko Medal winner Bennett grinned.

In any case, the 14-year wait is over. Few are as well-versed in grand final heartbreak as the Magpies.

Belconnen have lost five deciders since their last premiership in 2009. Twice against Ainslie, twice Queanbeyan, and once a mob in red and white from Sydney.

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Ainslie arrived on Saturday having won six grand finals since Belconnen's last. As for what it feels like to lose the decider? They weren't to know, because they never had. At least not since that day in 2009.

"It's been a while coming. I said to the guys, we've put in so much work for so many years and gone close," Bennett said.

"You sort of feel like you deserve a bit better out of footy, so I said to the guys today, 'You've just got to go out there and take it'.

"It's a special feeling for my brother, but to be honest, I've coached a lot of these guys for five years and played with them for 10 years. They're all my brothers. We haven't been able to get this until now, and I'm so happy they get to experience it. It's f---ing awesome.

"I'm just so happy for everyone at our club to experience that. It shows what the Belconnen footy club is all about. People care about each other."

At which point did the player-coach, who was first sighted in the top grade some 20 years ago, really start to dream?

Was it when Mulrooney Medallist Thomas Simpson kicked the first goal after 21 seconds? Or when rising star Max Monaghan kicked his fourth to open up a 40-point lead midway through the contest? Turns out it was somewhere in between.

"You never know how the team is going to show up, you're always hopeful they're going to play their best footy," Bennett said.

"The way we started that first 10 minutes was awesome, and I knew if we kept finding that level throughout the day, we would be alright. Our back line were fantastic, we kept them to four goals for the day. Rapt with how we held up under pressure."

If Ainslie's Jason Tutt needed a Churchillian speech at half-time, you can only wonder what he had to muster at the final break.

Belconnen managed just three points in the third quarter - but Ainslie still entered the final term 33 points in arrears and chasing a September miracle.

The miracle would never come. Instead, Ainslie captain Josh Maynard was left to concede Belconnen were "deserved winners" - and they may not have to wait 14 years for the next one.

"It's really special. We've only gone through a number of lost grand finals over the last 14 years since we won our last one," Lexie Bennett said.

"The group of players we've got coming through, they're going to be around for a number of years. There are some really exciting and successful times coming for our club."

AT A GLANCE

AFL Canberra men's first grade grand final:

BELCONNEN MAGPIES 4.2 8.6 8.9 10.11 (71)

AINSLIE TRICOLOURS 2.2 2.2 3.6 4.8 (32)

Belconnen goals: Max Monaghan 4, Thomas Simpson 2, Sam O'Sullivan, Jacob Taylor, Hamish Saunders, Sam Glyde. Ainslie goals: Jonty Revet, Thomas Tyquin, Nicholas Gray, Isaac Bishop.

Best on ground: James Bennett.

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