For almost 20 years the trio have played together at the Deloraine Football Club and now they are about to lead the club into the future with the hope of achieving something they never could - a premiership.

Mr Donohue is the senior club's new president, Mr Tyson the vice-president and Mr Lovell the returning junior club president.

The three meet when they played in the Deloraine juniors, but it wasn't until they all made the senior team - Mr Lovell the last in 1993 - that they became good mates.

"As soon as we started playing together we just became the best of mates," Mr Donohue said.

"We have had some tough times but we've always got through.

"Back in 2001, we nearly looked like folding, our coach had quit, and there were four of us - the three of us plus one more - just here by ourselves at training.

"No-one else was here and we had to rally around and we signed Jason Gibson as coach in March and had a great season."

And as the trios' brotherhood strengthened so too did their success.

"In 2006 Kent came back after a year away and we won the first 13 games of the season," Mr Lovell said.

"We probably should have won the flag but we didn't end up making it.

"We've never won a premiership which is a sore point with us."

But Mr Lovell, was sure with their combined help there was potential for the senior and some junior teams to reach the finals this season.

"We're hoping that in the future we can guide them (the teams) to something that we couldn't achieve as players," Mr Lovell said.

"The juniors have been on a good track for a couple of years and we've seen our numbers progress and I can see already in just two months how the professionalism has gone up in the seniors."