The 197cm key position player's wife Steph is from Cobram, with her family still based in the Victorian town.

"For us it was just an opportunity to get back and for my wife to be close to her parents, the time was right to move back straight away," he explained.

"The family business is Oasis Homes and the time's right to come in and learn the ropes and see where that takes us."

Trengove was drafted at No.22 by Port Adelaide in the 2008 AFL Draft and played 153 games until the end of 2017, before finishing with a further 33 matches in a three-year stint at the Western Bulldogs, including one this year.

"For me it was the right time to retire, it was difficult this year with everything that went on with the coronavirus, the hubs and taking the (three) kids up there (to Queensland)," he said.

And unlike some players after more than a decade at the gruelling elite level, Trengove's body is sound.

"It's actually pretty good, 2020 was good for me in that I didn't play a lot of footy, it was more scratch matches rather than physical games, so it was 16-on-16 and smaller field-type games and there wasn't as much contact in that," he offered.

"My body's terrific at the moment, I've had a bit of time off to really relax, it's probably the first time in 13 years that I haven't had to schedule in a pre-season."

The 30-year-old was an ideal utility in the AFL, but he's now likely to focus on one area.

"If he wants to play in the ruck, he can play in the ruck," Hawks' coach Tim Hargreaves said.

Barooga will field the competition's best ruck division next year, if not one of the best outside the AFL and State leagues, with runaway 2018 league medallist Brodie A'Vard returning after a season with Wodonga Raiders in the Ovens and Murray.

Trengove will also be the club's junior development officer.

"I didn't want to be just a player, but I'm not ready either to do any coaching, I just want to have a year where I find my feet work-wise," he said.

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"I really want to indulge in that junior program and the development of kids."

Trengove should guarantee a big crowd for the Easter clash against rivals Cobram.