Playing for your badge is special, and so is playing for your mates, but there's something even more motivating about playing for your culture.
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Orange United Warriors are hoping to bring the town's Indigenous community its first ever Wallerawang Landscaping Cup trophy as Saturday's Diggings Oval showdown with CSU shapes as the biggest day in the club's two-year history.
After falling one match short of the finale in 2020, the men in teal have clawed back to go at least one better, something that means so much to co-coach Kurt Beahan.
"We said from day one, our club is about community," he said.
"We want to give our Aboriginal community a voice through sport. That's why we put the club together.
"It wasn't only to showcase our talent, but to give some of the guys an opportunity who wouldn't have an opportunity elsewhere."
Not only will the men's side compete for the championship, but Jake Kelly's league tag outfit has worked its way to the decider as well, something that no one would have picked after a winless maiden campaign last year.
They too have the daunting task of going up against the students as CSU's league tag program has been even more dominant than the men's squad.
"We knew this year was going to be a huge challenge," Beahan said.
"Everyone is really proud to be here, but we're not going to be satisfied without the win."
Beahan has enjoyed a decorated bush footy career, and after kicking it off with a first-grade premiership at CYMS, he hopes to finish it with a title at United.
"We're quite emotional about tomorrow," he said.
"I know myself, I'm an emotional man, and this might be my last game of football forever.
"If we don't win, I'll be devastated, I know everyone else will be as well."
But, the Warriors will need more than motivation to knock off the Mungoes, a group that's gone from strength to strength as the season's progressed
"They're a great side," he said.
"Anyone who's asked me about the competition this season, I've said that they're the team to beat.
"But there's going to be 20 of us who take the field tomorrow and I know every single one of us has the confidence we're going to win."
Jacob Condello and Beahan can get out the whiteboard and do as much game-planning as they want, but the reality for United simple... it's not about the students, it's about the brothers.
"We honestly haven't spent too much time thinking about them," he said.
"Last time we played them, we had a plan for how we were going to go after Cal [Flanagan] and I think we ended up getting too sidetracked with who they had.
"Tomorrow is about us. If we can just hold onto the footy, we know we're going to be hard to beat."
The afternoon will kick-off with the United league tag side doing battle with CSU at 1.30, before the men's unit will commence at 3pm.
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