Back in yellow and black: Tigers welcome home Bance for next season

Bance last played for the Tigers in 2020-21 and he has since spent time playing with Noosa in the QAFL.

His addition is a massive boost for the Tigers ahead of next season and coach Murray Stephenson said the club was delighted to have Bance onboard for 2024.

"We've missed him for the last two years while he's been up in Sunny Queensland," Stephenson said.

"He was pretty keen to play next year and we are just rapt to have him come play.

"He's a quality on-baller so he'll bring some real leadership to the group and one thing that stuck out for me in the first year we spent together was his standard of training.

"He's a fantastic trainer and it flows into the way he plays and we are really excited."

Bance will be a solid inclusion to the Tigers' midfield brigade for next season and Stephenson was looking forward to seeing him and young talent Sam McNaughton work together.

"They are a good combination those two," he said.

"They both bring different strengths so it's exciting and he'll also be a good learning tool for Sammy McNaughton as well.

"He can bounce ideas off and pick up certain habits when it comes to being a midfielder and pick Charlie's brain a bit."

Bance decided to have the season off in 2023 and said that he was looking forward to being back at the Tigers next season.

"Yes I'm super, super excited," Bance said.

"We've got a pretty good young list there led by Muz and I can't wait to play under Muz and see what we can do in the upcoming year."

After playing just the nine senior games in 2022 for Noosa, Bance made the decision to have a year off footy to work on getting his body right.

He believes that it was a great decision as he feels as fit as ever ahead of his return home to Robertson Oval.

"Yeah it was good, I felt like I sort of needed it," he said.

"I've had a few hamstring issues previously which have held me back so I decided to have the year off to refresh, get into the gym and get fit.

"I'm probably the fittest I've ever been at the moment which is pretty exciting so I'm ready to step back into it and give it a good crack."

Bance said that he enjoyed the experience of playing with Noosa but admitted that the travel required had become a bit of a burden.

"I met some good mates up there at Noosa," he said.

"But I was living about 50 minutes south of Noosa so it was a bit of a hassle getting to and from training and then driving down to the Gold Coast and Brissy most of the time.

"I was a bit over it and needed a spell from it at the time.

"It was a good year meeting people and playing in the QAFL, but I'm pretty keen to get home to play."

Bance will continue to live on the Sunny Coast next year but believed that commuting down shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

"We are just sort of playing that out by year at the moment," he said.

"I'm planning to play as many games as I can and obviously with mum and dad here I can just stay with them when I'm back.

"There's a direct flight from the Sunny Coast to Albury which is pretty handy and there's a Qantas flight from Wagga to Brisbane which is also pretty handy so there's plenty of opportunities to come back and play."

Having last played for the Tigers in 2021, Bance was excited to be back at his junior club for next season.

"Yeah definitely I love playing for the Tiges, there's nothing like playing at your home club," he said.

"I know we've lost a few players but the young group there is really exciting and to help Muz out with developing those guys is something I'm looking forward to for sure."