Broderick will make his first appearance in Magpies colours since the 1987 Hampden league grand final when he runs out with Camperdown's reserves side at Leura Oval.

Now 40, the former Fitzroy and Richmond onballer yesterday revealed he had agreed to play ahead of his guest speaking role at the opening of the club's new social rooms tomorrow night.

He said he wanted to play alongside the club's emerging youngsters and encourage their development - something the club had done for him when he was rising through the ranks.

"It's been a helluva long time since I played with Camperdown," he told The Standard.

"With my commitments down here (in Melbourne) I haven't been able to give that sort of support back to the club and it would be nice to finish that way. That's where it all started, within the Camperdown environment, and there are a lot of people who supported me and it would be nice to go back and say thanks."

He said he was looking forward to the experience.

"They have struggled to get numbers consistently and if I can play with some of the young guys coming through and get them to enjoy their football and help them stay engaged, then that would be good."

Broderick, who played with the Marcellan Bald Eagles in the over 35 veterans competition in Melbourne last year, said he had been running a couple of times a week and was in reasonable shape "but not anything like I used to be".

He said he had enjoyed the veterans competition which was only played every second week so participants could recover to play the next game.

"Don't expect too much out of me," he said.

"I will get more heckling from the Camperdown crowd than the Cobden crowd." He said with his children's sporting commitments increasing, his days of playing were just about over.

He grew up in Camperdown and still returns for family celebrations.

He played in Camperdown's 1986 and 1987 grand final sides which were beaten by the mighty Grant Thomas-coached Warrnambool teams which strung four premierships together in that era.

"We had some good sides and just couldn't get over the line against them."

He was recruited by Fitzroy for the 1988 season and played 93 games with the Lions until he was traded to Richmond for forward Jeff Hogg for the 1994 season. He had a stellar career with the Tigers, playing 169 games and kicked 90 goals until he retired at the end of 2001. He won the Tigers' best and fairest in 1996 and figured prominently in most seasons.

Camperdown public relations officer Peter Conheady was delighed Broderick would once again don the black and white.

"He's capable of playing in the seniors but he didn't want to upset the team balance," he said.

"It's terrific for the young fellas in the twos to have someone of his calibre playing with them.

"It's just a one-off and his way of giving a little bit back to the club."