While he signed on as a non-playing coach, James Smart will return to the field as part of a new-look Kangaroos outfit next month.
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But he's not planning on returning in a familiar role.
Smart won two Weissel Medals at halfback for Gundagai before making a switch to fullback more recently but he's looking to fill a different role after linking with the Wagga club.
"It will be what's best for the side but unless there is injuries I'd be pretty confident in saying I won't be starting the season there (at halfback)," Smart said.
"Will Herring and Jake Mascini have been training really well together in the halves and both those guys bring a lot to the team that I can't as a half and I'm really looking forward to see how they go."
Instead he's eyeing a position in the middle of the side.
Smart only played about a half of football last year after injuring his shoulder in the early stages of Riverina's first Country Championships campaign before suffering a fractured fibula in his mid-season return.
He wasn't looking at having a playing role with Kangaroos, but the 32-year-old feels it is in the club's best interest after a big turnover of players.
"I feel a little bit of senior leadership on the field is what the team needs," Smart said.
"It's one of the key things that stood out to me in the early part of pre-season is while there are some experienced players there, there are a lot of younger guys as well.
"I felt like there was a real need for some leadership there and felt like I could provide that in some way on the field. It simply comes down to a lot of the player turnover we've had as well.
"There are a lot of guys out of last year's first grade squad who aren't playing this year and I'm 32 years of age so if I feel physically ok to give it a go and have a crack at playing as I don't think I'll be dong the club a service sitting on the sidelines each week."
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There are 15 players who had a taste of first grade last season that are no longer with the club.
Among them is last year's captain Zac Graham, former representative players Chris Maher and Luke Ingram as well as a stack of young talent.
However Smart headlines a number of new faces including former Tigers Herring, Charlie Barton and Jack Schubert while Daniel Foley is their other big addition following one season with Southcity.
Kangaroos were set to have a trail against Tumut at Twickenham on Friday night but the Blues pulled out citing COVID concerns and player unavailability.
Despite the setback, Smart has been happy with how the new-look side is preparing ahead of their first round clash with Young on April 24.
"It's obviously disappointing from our end but I understand these are the times we are living in and we've just got to roll with it," he said.
"I'm sure there will be bigger challenges for us to face throughout the year so we just have to look at other alternatives to see what we can do heading into round one.
"I'm happy with how we sit at the moment and the way we've been training."
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