Albury Thunder re-signs forward Sam Collins for the season

Collins joined the Army in July, 2021, and didn't think he would be on the Border in 2023.

"I just thought I'd be leaving the area towards the start of the year, but circumstances have changed, so I thought I'd take advantage of it and keep going around," he offered.

Collins, who turns 33 later this month, finished fourth in the club's best and fairest.

"I was happy, especially after a couple of years off," he suggested.

"Obviously when you do it for so long, it's really hard to give away, you lose your identity and find yourself scratching around and got nothing to do on the weekends."

By his own admission, Collins arrived as a firebrand, with a history of spending time in the sin bin for indiscretions, but he was, generally speaking, on his best behaviour.

"With the red line (being sin binned), I stayed on the right side of it, I didn't spend any time in the bin, which is great. I was very close, at times," he revealed.

But it's that aggression that his team-mates appreciate.

"You stand tall around him," centre Jackins Olam said.

"It's good news for the team and for me to have Sam Collins back in the team.

"He brings a good spirit to the team, he's a quiet bloke off the field (in terms of aggression), but when he gets on the field, he's pretty tough.

"He doesn't want people to get over him and puts the boys on the front foot all the time.

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"We've got some new players and need someone to lead from the front and I think Sam will be the one."

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