The former West Coast Eagles star has a football resume that ensures he wasn’t going to be overawed.

But after 220 AFL games over 13 seasons (averaging better than 20 touches a game), a 2006 grand final win, and two runner-up finishes in the Brownlow Medal (2005, 2007), Kerr is enjoying a taste of footy’s lighter side.

His travelling roadshow to play for clubs in Victoria, Tasmania and NSW, offers something else.

“It's a really good environment (at country clubs), they’re looking forward to playing footy and looking forward to having a beer after, which I enjoy as well,” Kerr said.

“(It’s) a lot of the reason why I’m playing – just to enjoy playing football but then enjoy the side of football that you do miss. 

“I only played footy in high school and then went straight to an elite level so I kind of skipped that part.”

The travel isn’t easy, and Kerr knows he’s a big target wherever he plays each week.

“Sportsmanship’s been fantastic, there’s been nothing dirty. But I have been hit a couple of times a little bit harder than I’m used to over the last couple of years, that’s for sure,” he said.

In his experience, country clubs allow for a more pure football focus.

“In an AFL environment, there’s so many things going on, so many meetings, so many things that you have to tick off leading into a game that not until game day do you really start focussing on how you’re going to perform that day,” he said.

Kerr retired at the end of 2013 and his life threatened to spiral out of control with court cases and even a short stint in prison dominating the script of his post-football career.

However, he appears to have his life back on track, working for a foundation assisting Aboriginal youth in remote areas of WA.

His surprise return to football, at the age of 33, wasn’t a search for happiness, as much as a sign that he was already in a better place. 

“I made sure that I loved footy again before I started playing,” he said. 

When he looks back on those glory days of a decade ago at the Eagles, Kerr said four names spring to mind. He loved nothing more than playing with Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Dean Cox and Andrew Embley.

“We had a good team and a lot of us were really good friends. That friendship has carried through with the boys as well,” he said.

“The player I probably most enjoyed playing with was Chris. Or Dean. They were just head and shoulders above the rest I think.”

He’s still in touch with Cousins and holds out hope for his old teammate, imprisoned and fighting a drug addiction.

“I don’t like where Ben’s ended up,” he said.

“But I’ve caught up with Ben and he still has the ability to pull himself out of it. So when I think of him, I’m just hopeful that he makes the right decisions once he finishes being incarcerated.”

Kerr aims to keep making the right decisions in his own life.

He’s also enjoying having the chance to help others make them too, as he mixes with young footballers around the country.

“Probably the main bit of advice is preparation is king,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what level you play. The better you look after yourself throughout the week and especially the 48 hours before a game, what you put in your system is crucial to your performance.”

Although happy with his form in recent weeks, he said his guest apearances are also a reminder – for him and his teammates – of one of the beauties of Australian rules.

“With football, unless you’re playing up forward and just snagging goals, it takes the majority of the team to influence the result,” he said.

“That’s why it’s such a great game. Very rarely do you see one player have a huge impact, unless he’s a full-forward kicking goals.”