The chance to be close to family and play a role in a resurgent side fuelled Billy Arnold's decision to return to the south-west and the Camperdown Magpies next season.
The 28-year-old is moving back home to Camperdown after two years living and working in the idyllic Queensland town of Noosa and has committed to the Magpies for the 2024 Hampden league season.
Arnold conceded it was the right time for him to move back to the south-west.
"I've been up in Noosa for two years now, I was sort of like 'it's probably time to come back'," he told The Standard.
"I've been missing family a fair bit, my brother and sister and obviously mum and dad are back home.
"Probably the time to come back and I suppose maybe settle down and try and buy a house and all that jazz.
"I've got my own (tiling) business that I can start up again back home."
While interstate he played two injury-hampered seasons with Noosa in the QLD AFL competition but confirmed his body was feeling "pretty good" now.
He thoroughly enjoyed his time on the Sunshine Coast but is eager to re-join his former side which is on the rise after finishing sixth and narrowly missing out on finals in 2022.
The defender, whose younger brother Riley reached his 100 game milestone during the season, followed his former side closely during the year.
"They won five games in a row or something and I was thinking if these boys get up I'm going to be spewing because I'm missing out," he said.
"It was pretty much just that, I was just like 'I can't miss out again if these boys are going to have a crack next year' and it's looking like we are (and we're) getting a few boys back. I really want to be a part of that."
Arnold isn't far off reaching the 100-game milestone with the Magpies either, something he is striving for that both Riley and his father Shane have achieved.
He is looking forward to taking the field alongside his sibling again.
"We played a bit last year together," he said.
"I've played most of my senior footy with him really. We're two years apart but pretty much when he started I was playing. It's always good to watch him dance around blokes."
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Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
