FORMER coach Shaun Campbell is a confirmed starter for Wagga Tigers in Saturday's season opener against Osborne.
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Campbell managed to leave Victoria just hours before the border closure and has completed a two-week quarantine period that leaves him free to line-up for Tigers on Saturday.
Tigers' 2016 premiership coach returned a negative coronavirus test at the end of his two-week quarantine period and is now free to play in the AFL Riverina Championship.
Campbell was to train with Tigers for the first time on Thursday night and will be one of a large number of returning faces to line up for the reigning premiers at Robertson Oval on Saturday.
Campbell believes pulling on the Tigers jumper again will be worth the effort.
"Absolutely. I can't wait. It will definitely be worth it," Campbell said.
"Everyone knows how much I enjoy my footy and 14 days of doing not much to be able to pay nine weeks of footy should be well worth it.
"Once (Victoria) was going to lock down again and close the border, I decided to get over and got to Mum and Dad's in Canberra and isolated there for a bit. It's not the best, not the most fun and parents can be testing but you've just got to get it done.
"It's a bit of a commitment but it's also good to be out of Victoria as well."
Campbell coached Tigers from 2016 to 2018 and spent last season at Melton in the Ballarat Football League.
He always held out hope he would one day return to Robertson Oval and admits it happened sooner than expected.
"Coming back has always been high on the priority list, it was just a matter of when," he said.
"As soon as footy was canned down there, it seemed like a good time to do it."
Wagga Tigers president Anthony Lyons is rapt to have Campbell back at the club.
"The club is excited to have our ex-premiership captain-coach returning for the season," Lyons said.
The freeze on movement from the border has ruled out Tigers' premiership ruckman Tom Osmotherly and prized recruit Brayden O'Hara from the start of the season.
The Holbrook-based Jim Grills and Jake Gaynor are expected to be right to play.
The returning Brad Graham will shoulder the ruck duties in Osmotherly's absence.
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