Andrew Smith never thought he would return to Albury Thunder

Andrew Smith started his career with Group 20 outfit Yanco-Wamoon and returned there in 2019.

"I wanted to coach my junior club, so I was a co-coach with a mate and I thought I was going to finish my career there," he explained.

"I was hoping to win a premiership."

But as can sometimes happen when a player yearns to lead his old club, the dream as a kid doesn't become a fairytale.

Despite walking away from the game in 2017 after a stint at Albury Thunder, Smith continued to live on the Border and make the two-hour plus trip every week.

He also had four amateur fights, losing his last bout in Sydney.

The powerfully built Smith was 96kgs when he completed his first stint with the Thunder, but lost an incredible 20kgs to strip as a middleweight.

"It took me a long time to get my strength back, I'm back to where I should be, sitting around that 88kgs," he revealed.

Quite remarkably, Smith debuted at first grade level for his home club as a 15-year-old against Narrandera.

After so many years of playing such a brutal sport, the 33-year-old wasn't sure if his body could handle another season.

"I played reserve grade against Gundagai (on May 1), I just wanted to see if the body held up," he admitted.

"I thought I'd be happy playing reserve grade, but once I started I got the itch again.

"It's probably been a good thing I haven't played too much footy the last couple of years, it's just given the body time to repair."

Smith trained with first grade for the first time on Wednesday night and will play halfback in Sunday's game against Tumut in Junee.

"It's probably the most inexperienced side I've ever been involved with," he offered.

"They're young and keen with just a few older heads and hopefully I can lead them around and teach them a few tricks of the trade."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Thunder's win over Gundagai is one of its best wins since the premiership years (2012-2014).

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