Coolamon midfielder Luke Redfern and developing key position player Josh Buchanan were both part of Belconnen's win over Gungahlin on Saturday.

In fact, there was Hoppers everywhere with fellow Coolamon teammates Ryan Allen and Cooper McKelvie, as well as North Wagga's Kane Flack, playing for Gungahlin.

Buchahan made his Belconnen first grade debut in Saturday's 43-point win, while Redfern impressed with three goals.

It was through a few Riverina connections at Belconnen that Buchanan and Redfern linked with the Magpies and the pair have been quick to make their mark.

Redfern was rushed into Belconnen's first grade team after one dominant display in reserve grade, while Buchanan only had to wait an extra week.

Redfern, 21, is enjoying having a run in a new competition.

"I got in contact with Josh and he was still keen on having a game and it went from there," Redfern explained.

"It's been good. I think the standard's similar, it's hard to tell at the moment. The standard between the top four teams is pretty good. I've played Gungahlin twice now, the way the draw's set up so I haven't had a good look at how it stacks up yet but you can tell just by who's on the list, there is a lot of the NEAFL guys have dropped back so it's good footy."

Redfern won Coolamon's best and fairest last season and was runner up in the Jim Quinn Medal.

He has no issue with the Hoppers' decision to sit out the AFL Riverina Championship but, personally, was keen to keep playing.

"I was pretty keen to still play. I understood the position Coolamon had, and I was pretty comfortable with that side of things, I fully understood that it's better to be safe than sorry," he said.

"It's just nice just to play footy after having time off. It's nice to play again, get around the boys. That's why you play."

Redfern has played across half-forward for Belconnen, while Buchanan started at centre-half-back and was used through the ruck after a couple of injuries.

Buchanan is enjoying a taste of the AFL Canberra competition.

"What was it, 10 months of pre-season, I was getting sick of it so I thought there was no point of wasting a 10-month pre-season, I've got to do something, have a kick somewhere. That's all it was in the end, really," Buchanan said.

"It's a good standard. We were playing Gungahlin on the weekend, who have a bad record but they were very competitive. It's good to test myself against better blokes, they've got a lot of NEAFL blokes who have played in the Canberra Demons side so it was good to test myself against those blokes and see where I'm at, and to try and get to a better level."

For Gungahlin, McKelvie kicked two goals, while Allen was named in the best.

Belconnen sit on top of the AFL Canberra ladder, undefeated after five rounds.

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