Luke Daly signs with Chiltern after calling time on his Albury Tigers career

Daly has joined the reigning Tallangatta & District League premiers on a two-year deal after finishing his glittering Albury career in the Ovens and Murray grand final last month.

The 36-year-old is married to the sister of Swans coach Brad Hibberson while he will also join another of his brothers-in-law, Bodie Hibberson, in the red and white.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say Shanayde's dad has been into me for a while," Daly laughed.

"But not until I knew I was at the end of my time at Albury did I start to really give it some thought.

"It's close to us, it's family, it's everything we're about.

"Me and Shanayde and the kids, we just want a couple of years where we can be around our family more and the football club is a perfect fit for us."

Daly racked up 265 games for Albury, playing in 10 grand finals and winning six premierships, and he admitted it will be 'strange' pulling on the jumper of a different club after such a long association with the Tigers.

"I was at Albury for half my life so it's something that feels very foreign at the moment but it's also something I'm also pretty excited about," Daly said.

"Where Chiltern's at as a club, they had a great year this year coming from fourth to win the flag and they've got some really good kids coming through.

"To win in the seniors and the reserves just shows where the club's depth is at.

"It's still fresh but I'm sure it'll grow on me more and more as the weeks progress."

Having already added Dion Gleeson and Ethan Boxall to his premiership-winning side, Hibberson was delighted to officially unveil Daly as a Swan.

"It's very exciting," Hibberson said.

"Luke's played some good footy for a long time and it's not only his experience on the field that he's going to bring, it's off the field as well.

"Coming from a club like Albury, he knows how a good club runs so I think we'll benefit from that.

"He's my brother-in-law so I see behind the scenes and he's the ultimate professional when it comes to footy.

"He does everything right so hopefully that can rub off on a lot of the young blokes we've got.

"The kids coming up are going to have plenty of opportunities so hopefully he can drive them and show them a different take on footy and what you've got to do to be at a higher standard, if that's what they want to do."

Daly only missed three games this year and has no plans to slow down in the TDFL.

"He's still playing some great footy," Hibberson said.

"Albury clearly rated him very highly, because he was captain as well.

"Dropping down to the Tallangatta League might take the pressure off him with his body but I know he'll still be as fit as ever; he won't let himself down in that regard.

"I can see him playing some really good footy for us."

Many players boasting Daly's record, at his age, would happily slip into retirement to count their premiership medallions but the hunger for success remains insatiable.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't another driving factor," Daly said.

"Winning games of footy and team success is the ultimate goal for anyone.

"They're going for a three-peat and that doesn't happen very often.

"This year, a lot of teams probably wrote them off but they defied the odds and came from fourth to win it so that would no doubt drive the group even further."

But Daly's biggest motivation behind extending his career is quite simple.

"I just love playing footy," he said.

"I love being around mates, getting to play with them and going to war with them for two hours each week and the camaraderie you build.

"Family is a big thing for me as well.

"I've got three little boys who are eight, six and going on three and they live and breathe footy more than I do.

"It breathes life into me; win, lose or draw, they're always there, they always want to have a kick at the end of the game and hopefully they can sit back when they're older and remember those times of me playing footy.

"It's something that drives me a little bit.

"Sitting back and looking at Chiltern, it's in a great position on and off the field with a huge supporter base and great community support.

"I reckon it's got a lot of similarities to Albury, in particular in the last few years where they've got some older, wiser heads there with some really good kids coming through.

"That's exciting.

"It's a family club and being able to play with my two brothers-in-law...

"I've played with Brad before at Albury but I haven't played with Bodie so I'm really looking forward to being able to do that together."

To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: