The revered Saunders has been training with the Bulldogs during the pre-season in the hope of pulling the boots back on in the Bendigo Football League this year.

The dual premiership captain, 2005 Michelsen medallist and BFL 2000-09 Team of the Decade member is now 36 and hasn’t played a game since suffering a knee injury midway through the 2013 season.

That knee injury came in just his second game back from an ear-related health problem that among the symptoms affected his balance and not only put his playing career on hold for the best part of a year, but forced him to step aside as coach at the end of 2012.

“The chances of me playing are fairly small at this stage… I’ll play if I can get through the training,” Saunders said on Wednesday.

“But the reality is I’m 36 and I’ve hardly played footy for the past four years. I’m doing it more to help the club… I’m not going to be half the player I was four years ago, let alone 10 years ago, so it’s not much to get too excited about.”

Gisborne is bracing for what shapes as a challenging year on the field, with the club to field what’s going to be a team of pups after losing most of its experienced players during the off-season.

Like Saunders, former skipper and premiership player Anthony Belcher is also training in the hope of being able to add some experience back onto the list.

“Belch and I have spoken about that, so we’ll be doing our best over the pre-season to get ourselves back out there,” Saunders said.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs will be holding a past players day in conjunction with their home game against Golden Square on Anzac Day.

The day will also double as a reunion of the 2006 premiership when the Bulldogs – captained by Saunders and coached by Marcus Barham - defeated Golden Square by 25 points.