Saunders, who earlier in the season quit SANFL club Port Adelaide to return to Victoria, trained for the first time with Gisborne on Tuesday night.

Gisborne coach Ty Elliott could not confirm a return date for Saunders, but expected it to be “sooner rather than later”.

Following this weekend’s BFL inter-league bye, the undefeated Gisborne’s next three games are against Eaglehawk, Golden Square and Castlemaine.

“Luke trained well last night; we did a fair bit of running and he moved okay,” Elliott said yesterday.

“He will be right to go when he is right to go, that decision will be up to Luke.”

Saunders is a former captain of Gisborne and was widely regarded as the best player in the BFL before he left Gardiner Reserve at the end of the 2007 season to play with the Magpies in the SANFL.

The 29-year-old captained Gisborne’s 2005 and 2006 premierships, won the Michelsen Medal in 2005, while in 2006 he was named an All-Australian following the Australian Country Football Championships.

“Luke brings an enormous amount to our side,” Elliott said.

“Playing at centre half-forward he obviously gives us a lot more of a focal point and more versatility.

“You can’t under-estimate how important he is for our side and for our development.

“He brings that belief and confidence to the group that we may have been struggling a bit with this year, particularly up forward.

“Through the midfield and down back we’ve been really solid, but we’re probably not as effective up forward as we should be with the amount of entries we’re having each game.

“We should be kicking higher scores, so hopefully, Luke can contribute to that happening.”

In his last three seasons for Gisborne between 2005 and 2007, Saunders kicked 123 goals for the Bulldogs.

Saunders told The Advertiser on April 23 his decision to leave Port Adelaide centred around the injury toll his body had endured.

“My body isn’t in the best shape with my sternum and knee, in which it got to the point where I couldn’t compete at that SANFL level. It’s nothing too major; I’ve obviously had a lot of injuries in my time and just need a break,” Saunders said last month.