IN 2005, Geoff Britton was part of the last Australian Air Force side to take out the Australian Defence Force rugby league title.
He has coached the team since 2007 but is yet to repeat that success.
On Saturday, the Air Force team, featuring eight Amberley-based players, downed Australian Navy 32-30 at the North Ipswich Reserve.
This Saturday they will take on Army, their traditional rivals, following the Ipswich Jets’ Queensland Cup clash with Wynnum Manly, with the title on the line.
Britton is also based at Amberley and is determined to achieve the feat at his team’s “home ground”.
“For me personally it would be the best thing going around,” he said.
“We’re always the ones who come second.
“In the last few years we’ve had good sides who have lost the decider.”
The game against Army is part of the Ipswich Jets’ Defence Force appreciation round.
Britton hopes the fact the services game follows the Jets will inspire his players.
“The Jets have built it up as the main game,” Britton said.
“It will be a good experience for the guys with a decent crowd there.
“There will be a bit of pressure on us to win at what is almost our home ground.
“It comes back to our preparation this week and putting the pressure on them by building it up as a grand final.
“I think they’ll perform better.”
Britton said the key to the Air Force team’s success in 2007 was there were no deployments that year, the team was extremely close and they were based at Amberley for the tournament at Coorparoo.
He hopes that with two of the three circumstances the same this time it will prove the difference to recent years’ disappointments.
“We’ve got a few blokes now who have reached the six or seven year mark (playing for Air Force) and some new guys have embraced it as well,” he said.
“If we play like we did in the first half against Navy we can come away with it.”
Army play Navy tomorrow at the North Ipswich Reserve at 5.30pm.