Amy Rebera still remembers the buzz at the season launch. All anyone could talk to her about was the revival of the Gungahlin Eagles' women's XVs program.
"And then in that first game, we got hammered," Rebera said. "It was brutal."
Tuggeranong ran in 78 points. The next time they met, it was 98-0, and some suspect the full-time whistle might have been blown a little early.
"Could not have predicted this year after that game, that's for sure," Rebera said.
Because four years later, the Eagles have just clinched the minor premiership and the Women's Territory Cup. Now they're about to play for a spot in the grand final when they face the Tuggeranong Viqueens at Viking Park on Saturday.
If you were looking for the feel-good story of this year's ACT Rugby finals series, this is it.
Rebera was playing on the wing in 10s before she filled in at scrumhalf during a training session and unloaded bullet after bullet. She's been wearing No.9 ever since.
April Downey - who has scored a mind-blowing 22 tries this year - was there in 2022. Laura Cameron was skipper. Jackie Paki, Talina Driti, Kolora Toga and Isabella Lo Re were there too.
Had you walked into the first meeting Eagles officials had with their women's squad before joining the 15-a-side competition, you would have heard one person outline a desire to win a premiership.
That was to be Gungahlin's long-term goal - but it's fair to say the notion raised a few eyebrows for the new kids on the block, joining a competition which had been dominated by the same three clubs for some time.
But that message has been the same every year, and only now have the players started to believe they can actually do it.
"It's obviously club rugby, but it means so much to us, just because it actually is such a big deal that we're in this position and it's quite optimistic this year," Rebera said.
"We're quite aware that we still need to turn up, we still need to play our best games. I'm probably more on the nervous side, but I think once we're out there and the first hit-up is done, then the nerves will hopefully cease."
Sustaining a women's program - especially one being routinely beaten as the Eagles were in their infancy - is no mean feat.
Goulburn came and went inside one season. Penrith's stint in the ACT's premier grades was short-lived. The Queanbeyan Whites couldn't pull a team together this year.
Central to Gungahlin's rise - and initially, their ability to just keep a team on the park - has been coach Darragh O'Byrne, whose mother played a role in reviving the women's program a decade ago.
"He honestly cares about you so much as a person. He'll always be available for a phone call, whether it's footy-related, whether it's not," Rebera said.
"He understands that we've all got our own lives, but he'll put so much time into the team outside of those allocated rugby hours.
"At the end of the day, he is a volunteer, and he's just so passionate about what we're doing. You can tell it's on his mind so much this year about how well we're going, what can we do to improve.
"He's chill, but I think he dedicates so much of his time and you can just tell he's passionate about it, and I think that's why we've all stayed in the club and in the team for as long as we have."
