It started as a joke and the lure of a fishing trip was the deal maker.
Those are the terms that former Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns livewire Jared Brennan agreed upon to see him play at least two games for the Cairns City Lions this season.
Brennan will play for the Lions against Manunda Hawks at Holloways Beach on May 11, and the club also hopes to secure him for their annual Dreamtime by the Sea clash with North Cairns later in the season.
Brennan played 119 games for Brisbane from 2003 to 2010 and 54 games for the Suns after heading down the highway in 2011 before announcing his retirement last September.
Lions coach Marc Harbrow announced the news to the club at their jumper presentation on the weekend, hailing Brennan's cameo as one of the biggest coups for the AFL Cairns competition.
And it is another example of the battling club lifting their credibility on and off the field.
"It's a massive highlight for the Cairns City Lions, but it also lifts the league and sends the messge we have a strong competiton," Harbrow said.
"People all over the world talk about this competition and the more famous names we have running around here the better."
Harbrow's younger brother Jarrod is good mates with the now Darwin-based Brennan, the pair growing close during their time together on the Gold Coast. He was able to plant the idea in Brennan's head during a series of casual conversations and when the prospect of a fishing trip was thrown in it sealed the deal.
"They are pretty good mates, they go fishing together quite a bit and this whole thing actually came from a joke," Marc Harbrow said.
"My brother just said we should take him fishing. We put that idea in his head (and here we are)."
And so one of the AFL's great entertainers , still only 29, will be on show in the Far North wearing the number 17 in which he made waves during a breathtaking debut at the Gabba for the Lions 11 years ago.
"When the boys found out they all came to me excited, asking how long I'd known and how I had kept it a secret," Harbrow said.
"The boys are keen, and hopefully we can get him a few more games because he'd be a great name to have on the team sheet if we did make the finals."
The AFL Cairns season starts on March 28, while the Preseason Cup is this Saturday.
Last Modified on 06/11/2014 15:12