Melbourne's Jordan Lewis has called time on his AFL career

The 33-year-old, who started his footballer career as a junior with Emmanuel Hawks and Warrnambool, announced to the playing group of his decision to hang up the boots.

"I thought I'd address the group just briefly to one, show my appreciation, and two, just to put a full stop and let everyone know that I am retiring at the end of the year," Lewis said.

The four-time premiership Hawk will line up for his 319th and final time on the AFL stage against the Kangaroos at Tasmania's Blundstone Arena on Saturday.

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Lewis reflected on a decorated career, which begun when he was drafted by Hawthorn at pick seven in the 2004 National Draft.

"The journey has been a good one - it's been a long one," the father-of-three said.

"It's been a lot longer than probably I would have imagined, and maybe people who drafted me would've imagined, and my parents would've imagined. But it's been an unbelievable one."

Lewis, who was named in the All-Australian side and collected Hawthorn's best and fairest in 2014, played 264 games for the Hawks across 12 seasons before switching to the Demons at the end of 2016.

He has added another 54 games across three seasons in red and blue. Injury and form have hampered his 2019 season with the utility only managing 11 games - the lowest total in his career.

Lewis' former coach Alastair Clarkson reflected on the midfielders career with an anecdote from his early days at the club.

"I can remember Shane (Lewis' father) pulling me aside when we were down in Warrnambool and saying to me, 'Listen, if young Jordy ever gives you the shits, just give him a good swift kick up the arse,'," Clarkson said.

"We had guys like (Luke) Hodge and (Sam) Mitchell, (Brad) Sewell and (Shaun) Burgoyne, these types of guys, who were high-quality midfielders. 'Tas' (Lewis) was always the sacrificial one, we knew that he could play other positions, so we'd quite often push him out onto the wing.

"I remember one day we played Collingwood and Heath Shaw was right at the height of his career, and 'Tas' played on him and kicked five on the half-forward flank in a defensive role.

"He was a real in and under ferocious competitor at ground level, then that slide under rule got changed and it took away 10 per cent of his game.

"Then, bugger me, he was really good at second-man up in the ruck contests, then they changed that rule as well. He always had to adapt."

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Current Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin praised the impact Lewis had on his second club.

"We had the opportunity to bring Jordan to the Melbourne footy club, you heard what a great person he was, but it wasn't until he came through the door you realised the quality of the person and the family," Goodwin said.

"He was a winner, he was a competitor and he wanted to come because he wanted to bring leadership and he wanted to continue to win.

"From the moment he made his mind up that this was going to be his last year, the legacy that he was prepared to leave at the Melbourne footy club was pretty significant.

"He played every position on the ground except for ruck. He went into our midfield group when we weren't functioning there and got them to really buy into the team, he went into our forward line to help shape them in a really difficult season for us. And he's been an on-field leader and coach for us this season."

Lewis did not rule out the possibility of staying in the football landscape in some capacity, particularly a media role.

"I've been pretty fortunate to be exposed over the last six years to TV and radio," he said.

"That probably excites me a lot, to try and convey to the people who might not necessarily get access to the changeroom talk or philosophies, or the way the game is played, and try to articulate that to them.

"But if there are any jobs out there, email them through."

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