![Ben McIntosh with Yackandandah coach Darren Holmes. Picture by Mark Jesser Ben McIntosh with Yackandandah coach Darren Holmes. Picture by Mark Jesser](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/82442769-cf32-475f-9eee-8ad6bd81a264.jpg/r513_0_4694_2687_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Captain Ben McIntosh is ready to address some unfinished business at Yackandandah after signing on for another two years at his junior club.
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The former Albury midfielder has committed to the Roos until 2025 and believes the club is in its strongest position for two decades - but insists the best is yet to come.
McIntosh, who took out Yackandandah's best and fairest last season, has been a pivotal figure in helping the club back to finals in the Tallangatta & District League for the first time since 2010.
And despite interest from Ovens and Murray clubs to secure his services, McIntosh said it was an easy decision to sign on the dotted line and continue the successful relationship with coach Darren Holmes.
"I'm enjoying my footy the most I ever have," McIntosh said.
"It makes your week good and if you're happy in what you're doing, it reflects on your footy and everything.
"I'm absolutely loving it, loving the boys, they keep you going and obviously being a leader, the captain, it's a reason to be at your best all the time if you can be.
"You've got to lead from the front and it makes you better, they make you better and it makes you want to be better."
![Yackandandah captain Ben McIntosh. Picture by Mark Jesser Yackandandah captain Ben McIntosh. Picture by Mark Jesser](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/3ae3c387-32c9-498a-b7b9-c8d0586a392a.jpg/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
McIntosh played in the Roos' under-14 side before representing the Tigers in the Albury Wodonga Junior Football League and then making his Ovens and Murray bow in 2015.
He went on to play 14 senior games for Albury and also featured for the Murray Bushrangers before resuming his Yackandandah career in 2021.
"Yack's been a big part of my life as a junior," McIntosh said.
"Homer stirred me up back in the day to get me back because I was doing pre-season at Wang Rovers when I heard he was coming on.
"I ended up back at Yack and I've absolutely loved it.
"Homer's an unreal bloke, I've never known anyone to be so passionate about his players and nearly cries every time he's at training, I reckon, he gets all emotional and I really like it.
"He sent me a few messages early on.
"I knew he'd been at the highest level and had a bit of respect behind his name.
![Roos coach Darren Holmes. Picture by Mark Jesser Roos coach Darren Holmes. Picture by Mark Jesser](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/40a89fa6-2965-4524-b96d-441d2e907760.jpg/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Yack hadn't been up to standard in the seniors until Homer took over and anyone at the club would admit that.
"I thought there was a bit of a changing of the guard, a lot of players changed over when Homer came in and it was a fresh look and I really liked what he was saying, what he was pushing, the values and it got me across the line."
Yackandandah sat top of the ladder when the 2021 season was abandoned due to the pandemic and the Roos finished down in sixth last season after losing eight games.
Now, though, they're set for a top-three finish and are preparing for the challenge of playing on the big stage at Sandy Creek.
"Finals has been the biggest thing, getting back there and I think we can definitely shake the cage with the group we've got," McIntosh said.
"We're very young and that experience of the finals is another thing too.
"If you can get consecutive years of finals, it just builds that maturity.
"Kiewa have it, they know what it takes when they're there.
![Ben McIntosh fires off a handball against Beechworth. Picture by James Wiltshire Ben McIntosh fires off a handball against Beechworth. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/b4c52dc0-226f-4a3d-85e2-9388507f4ed2.jpg/r0_0_4377_2918_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"If you can get a list that's young enough, they build on it over the next four or five years if you can stick with it.
"I think Yack's in the best place it's been in the last 20 years and I want to be part of it.
"It's been such a long time and it would be a dream.
"I'd love to make it a reality, not just for me but for everyone else like my grandfather and like all the other volunteers that are down here.
"I was a junior there and there's a lot of boys who are playing now that all played juniors there, even little Lachie McMillan had a run around in the thirds so it comes to pay you back, there's no doubt about it.
"So did the Jarrett boys and Ethan Petrala, it's their club and it's been their club since they knew how to kick a footy so it's way of trying to pay it back."
The personal connection is proving to be one of Yackandandah's greatest strengths.
"My grandfather talks a lot about it and he actually came down last week and had a chat before the game against Thurgoona, about what Yack meant to him," McIntosh revealed.
![Yackandandah coach Darren Holmes and captain Ben McIntosh. Picture by Mark Jesser Yackandandah coach Darren Holmes and captain Ben McIntosh. Picture by Mark Jesser](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/0313b0b2-7d01-4d2b-89e6-b64f322dbe86.jpg/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We've started doing that the last couple of year, getting a lot of the past people in and it reminds you 'this is why we do it.'
"We're not doing it just to win.
"Some blokes get caught up in the pay cheque and that sort of stuff but we're about doing it for the people you don't even see, who have been there before you.
"I nearly cried before the game.
"It means a lot to me and it shows how much it means to them.
"It's the jumper and it's the people you meet, the relationships you form.
"I just want to be a part of that and I think we're on a good path.
"It's only building, I think.
![Ben McIntosh in action against Chiltern. Picture by James Wiltshire Ben McIntosh in action against Chiltern. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/7ac5ad1e-5bbe-4171-b3d4-34e22fa0cedc.jpg/r0_0_4345_2897_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We've done a really good job by setting the standard and if you can keep the blokes around that can keep the standard, I think that's a big important part of successful clubs.
"I look at Kiewa and those sort of people in our league and you even look at Albury and Wang Magpies in the Ovens and Murray and the biggest thing they do is they keep the core people around for as long as they can and they build on that.
"That was really important for me, signing on, because I'd like to be a part of where Yack's headed."
So did McIntosh give serious thought to an O and M return?
"I always have and I probably owe it to myself to do that," he said.
"Playing rep footy, Bushies, captaining the O and M interleague U19s, I definitely would like to do that in the future.
"But I just think where Yack is at the moment, keeping the group solid is important."
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