The Queanbeyan Tigers will welcome back one of country Australia's best midfielders this season, when Bill Neely pulls on the black and gold jersey for the first time in seven years.

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The 2001 Tigers' best and fairest, who won dual premierships with the Tigers in 1999 and 2000, has become a travelling gypsy of country AFL.

Since leaving the Tigers, Neely went on to win best and fairest awards at Ainslie, Glenelg and Lavington playing important roles in each club's midfield for the best part of a decade.

Tigers' manager Ron Fowlie, said the entire club was looking forward to welcoming Neely back.

He said the Tigers had been keen to see Neely back in gold and black for some time due largely to his commitment and leadership qualities both on and off the field.

“He came here as a young bloke he's pretty quiet by nature but you wouldn't find a player more committed to training and to good health,” Fowlie said.

“He will be a very good influence on the younger guys at our club we have so many younger players coming through and Bill's leadership skills and commitment to training were certainly things we considered while trying to get him back to Queanbeyan.”

The average age of the Tigers squad is just under 25 years, with a large number of teenagers contributing to that figure.

Queanbeyan's under 18 side is also brimming with talent and is expected to keep many of the established first grade players on their toes throughout the season.

Neely himself arrived at Queanbeyan as a wide eyed 17-year-old from Yarrawonga, in 1997.

On that trip, Neely only stayed for one year with the Tigers, before heading back to his home town for a season.

In 1999 Neely was back with the Tigers, helping Queanbeyan to back-to-back premierships.

In 2003 he left for Glenelg in South Australia, before coming back to Canberra in Ainslie colours back to Glenelg, to Lavington and back to the Tigers.

Between his travels, Neely has managed to set up a successful gym in Adelaide travelling 1600km most weekends last year to take the field for the Lavington Panthers.

Now approaching the ripe old age of 30, Fowlie said Neely's skills on the field were just as impressive as his commitment to fitness.

“The way he goes about playing is also great for these younger guys to watch he goes hard at the footy every time, loves a contest,” Fowlie said.

“He loves getting his hands on the ball and he will not give an inch.”