Murray Magpies' recruit Reilly Mitchell has returned home desperate to break a long finals drought.
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Midfielder Mitchell finished equal fifth in the Hume League's Azzi Medal in 2022, before joining Coolamon in the Riverina Football League this year.
"I'll be doing my placements with Albury-Wodonga Health next year," the final-year physiotherapist student said of 2024.
"Spencer (Jones) came back (from Albury) and I'd heard a lot of good things coming out of the club, so I thought it's a good time to jump back on and do something."
The 22-year-old finished third in the Magpies' best and fairest in his successive seasons.
"He's a good runner and one of the fittest guys around," president Ted Miller said.
The Magpies played their first preliminary final in 2017, but haven't played finals since.
In fact, the club has won only six games and Mitchell says the players are determined to return to finals.
"That's the driving factor why I came back and I think Spencer was the same," he revealed.
"(A winless) 2021 was really hard, but in the second year we started to do something (three wins).
"This year I went to Wagga for work reasons, but the chance of being part of a finals team outweighs any other footy decision and why I wouldn't go anywhere else."
The return of 2022 best and fairest Jones, along with Mitchell, significantly improves the Pies' on-ball division.
Darwin product Dylan Dos Santos will coach the club after playing four games last season, while Matthew Motlop and Michael Mummery, who have also played previously at the Magpies, will return full-time.
