Former junior James Tsitas will lineup for Grovedale in tomorrow’s clash with St Mary’s at Anthony Costa Oval.
And he’s not the only ex-AFL player set to lineup for the Tigers, with former Adelaide, Gold Coast and North Melbourne player Hugh Greenwood also pulling on the yellow and black.
The duo is in town with the Suns, where they both have off-field roles, who face Geelong at AFL level tonight and in the VFL tomorrow morning.
“It’s just great timing that he thought he’d be able to get a game of footy in,” Grovedale coach Jacob Spolding said. “That’s how James came about.
“And then, through talking with Hugh, James and Hugh have never played footy together, and they thought it’d be a great idea to try and have a run around.
“It’s very handy with them. playing at Kardinia Park and with us at Kardinia Park West.”
Tsitas, who trained with Grovedale on Tuesday night, played five matches for the Suns across 2022-2023 after joining the Suns as an SSP player in the 2022 pre-season.
He was delisted at the end of 2024 but remained as VFL captain last year.
Tsitas also played VFL with North Ballarat and Geelong, claiming a best-and-fairest with the Cats in 2017.
The 31-year-old then won a premiership and the Magarey Medal as SANFL best-and-fairest after heading to Woodville-West Torrens during the Covid-impacted years.
He last played with Grovedale in 2019.
Greenwood, a talented basketballer who played in the US college system, made 121 appearances across stints at the Crows, Suns and Roos.
The 34-year-old has played two VFL games with the Suns this year.
The appearance of Tsitas and Greenwood is timely after the Tigers were on the receiving end of a 136-point hiding from the Saints just three weeks ago.
“We’ll look to play James a combination of midfield and defence, and Hugh will play a combination of midfield/forward,” Spolding said.
“That can certainly change on the day, given the state of the game or how the game’s being played, etc.
“But that’s, at this stage, how we’ll look to use the two boys.”
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