In that time he's played about 230 games for the club, and has featured heavily in three premiership seasons.

We spoke to Sam for this week's Independent profile, and he has good insights into footy, community, and his line of work in insurance, particularly after the bushfires.

How long have you been involved with the Seahawks?

I started playing under 11s when I was 10 years old, that would have been 23 years ago now.

I played juniors up until under 17s, then I spent a year-and-a-half playing football up in Canberra.

During my HSC year, the senior coach approached me and told me I'd be playing senior footy, so I've been here ever since.

What's your favourite thing about being with the Seahawks?

The environment the club provides, the friendships you gain, and that physical outlet as you get older. It's a sense of being with your mates, doing something you love doing, and trying to achieve something together.

As you get older, it's seeing guys who were only kids a few years ago who are now playing some good senior footy.

We've got the women's side now as well, and the girls are creating a good culture themselves.

Do you have a favourite premiership?

It's hard to pick a favourite. I got very luck that I was in the back-to-back premierships in 2007 and 2008 when I was young.

The gap between 2008 and 2018, the feeling of having to earn that again, 2018 felt like more of a reward.

That first Canberra premiership in 2018 is probably my favourite, but 2007 is also special because I played with my brother.

What does you day-to-day life look like?

I work at a local insurance agency, so it's about servicing our clients and playing our part in supporting them.

The bushfires were a massive period for us, and it's a big job to make sure everyone was being looked after.

I got a ton of support at home from my wife - with two young kids and working full time, there's always extra planning in place so I can get that time to travel with the footy club and continue playing.

How many more years can we expect to see you in first grade?

I'll look at this year and go from there, but I'd like to do it for as long as I can in the senior side.

At the end of the day though, I'll do what's best for the club going forward.

I'm still very keen after a red-hot start to this year, and I certainly want a couple more years. We'll see what happens.