Charles Murrie is desperate to help the Hamilton Kangaroos win their first ever Hampden league final.
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The 24-year-old midfielder, who grew up in the town, was there for the Kangaroos' inaugural season in 2013 before a six-year stint away from the club.
This saw him play for Donald in the North Central league, Kybybolite in South Australia's Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara league and North Ballarat City in the Ballarat league.
And 2,058 days after he last pulled on the blue and white jersey, Murrie lined up for Hamilton against Koroit in round one last week.
He returned both excited about the club's prospects and driven by a gnawing sense of unfinished business - the fact Hamilton is yet to play finals, let alone win one.
"I was really pulled back by the playing group Hamilton has at the moment, as well as the chance to play for the town," Murrie said.
"Winning a final would be huge - it would really make us feel like we belonged in the league.
"We've taken massive steps forward, but to not have played finals after all this time in the league...it's a big question mark over the club.
"I think it would frustrate a lot of people. You see a lot of senior heads here and that's why they keep rocking up - they're really driven to do it. But we need to build a core group to ride along with them and push for it."
The Kangaroos were three wins short of a finals appearance in 2018.
But beyond pride, Murrie said getting some September action was also crucial in turning Hamilton into a destination club.
"The talent has always been here in the town, it's just about getting everyone keen to play," he said.
"We've struggled a bit with recruiting, but if we can build a strong footy team, it would do great things for the community.
"There's an age bracket of people missing from the town who move away because there's not enough for them to look forward to here.
"So it would be great to bring people back and let them be part of something.
"And I think a health footy club is a good reflection of a health community."
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