HIS father won four premierships in 10 seasons as coach and his three uncles played in the Australian Football League, but Queanbeyan Tigers legend Ryan Quade says he created his own destiny in playing at the club for so long.
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The Tigers North East Australian Football League side will run out on to Dairy Farmers Park this Saturday to take on the Belconnen Magpies to officially mark the Queanbeyan club's 90th anniversary.
They are the oldest Australian Football club in the Canberra region.
Quade will run out for his 202nd cap in entering an elite top 11 players for the Tigers that can call themselves members of the 200 club.
But in spite of his significant family connections to the club and sport, he said he has only ever been under his own influence.
"Dad never pressured me into staying at the club. He was happy for me to do whatever I wanted football wise, but I came out here because I enjoyed it and I stayed out here because I enjoyed it and made lots of friends," said Quade.
Ryan's father Brian, regarded as one of the most important figures during the club's significant transformation in the 1980s, said the club had survived for so long because of it's welcoming environment.
"It's very much a family club," said Brian Quade.
"You find a lot of people come from other clubs to here, but not many people go from here to other clubs which says a lot about the culture."
Brian never coached his son at the Tigers, and although Ryan did not get to make the big time after spending 2005 with the Sydney Swans reserves, Brian said he was extremely proud of his son's achievements.
"It's not easy when you've had your father involved and three uncles having played AFL, but the way he's gone out and played has been marvelous," Brian said.
Ryan Quade said the anniversary would be a great time for his family to look back on how far the club has come during their involvement with it.
But he added his team still needed to focus on the current season and ensure they got up on the Magpies as the season draws to the half way mark.
"It's a nice opportunity to reflect on the great years the club has had, but as a current player you're definitely still focused on this year," he said.
"I still believe in the current playing group we have this year and think we've got better things to come in the second half of the year...there's a lot more we can still do."
Meanwhile Jarrod Atkinson and Ben King should return to the field from injuries against the Magpies.
It will be King's first NEAFL game for the season after playing the last two games for the AFL Canberra side.
Quade said both his men and Belconnen had improved since round three when Queanbeyan won 132-100, but backed his men to maintain their combinations and get the win.