Former AFL player Fergus Greene opens up on why he chose Sandhurst

Greene's family ties with the Dragons was the overriding factor in his decision to come home.

His father, Chris Greene, is a club great, while his mother, Anne Hartney, and her family have had a storied history at the club.

"I've wanted to play at Sandhurst for a while, but things haven't aligned,'' Greene said.

"It's awesome to finally tick it off.

"Dad played more than 200 games at Sandhurst, coached, was president and is a premiership player.

"Mum's side of the family, from Leo Hartney my grandfather all the way through to [uncles] Brendan and Shane [Hartney] - there's so many family members that have been involved with the club.

"Playing footy in Melbourne through the years I just haven't experienced that family side of it.

"Mum and Dad were phenomenal in coming to watch me play, but I feel as though I hadn't been able to return the favour.

"This gives me the opportunity to do that and I'm really looking forward to it."

Greene played 11 games and kicked 15 goals in his one season with the Hawks.

He had more impact than others at the club, but Greene could see the writing on the wall and he wasn't shocked when he was delisted by Hawthorn at the end of the season.

"I could see it coming, but I'm still pretty proud of the year I had,'' Greene said.

"In the 11 games I played I think I was in the best players four times, which told me my best was at the level.

"My biggest problem was my inconsistency week-to-week wasn't good enough. As a 25-year-old I needed to play most weeks.

"Only playing 11 games I felt like I knew it wasn't going to work. I'm at peace with the decision.

"My mindset is that I was good enough for the level, but I couldn't do it week-to-week.

"Now I can concentrate on the next phase of my footy rather than being bitter and chasing it [AFL dream] still."

Greene's phone rang hot after the news of his delisting.

He had offers from multiple clubs, but ultimately his next footy home was always going to be Sandhurst.

"I kept it [the decision] to six clubs because I didn't want to have blurred vision and I wanted to be clear in the decision I was making,'' he said.

"I made it clear to the five other clubs that, unfortunately, they were competing against Sandhurst.

"I'll still be living in Melbourne, while playing for Sandhurst, so how that works for me was the only thing I had as a con.

"A number of the other teams I was talking to were Melbourne-based clubs, but once I processed how my week would look like I was very comfortable with the decision I made."

Greene said he was looking forward to playing and working with Sandhurst's young key forwards Cobi Maxted and Lachlan Wright.

"At Hawthorn I was the eighth oldest player, which was a different challenge,'' Greene said.

"At Sandhurst I get to take what I learned at AFL/VFL level and pass it on to the young players at the club much in the way when I first started at Sandhurst and guys like Bear Thornton were passing things on to me.

"It's awesome to repay that."

When Greene plays his first game in 2024 he'll wear the number six jumper - the same number his father wore.

"I hope it means as much to Dad as it does to me,'' Greene said.

"Growing up we had countless number six jumpers hanging around the house, including woolen ones.

"I'm certainly not the bustling full-back Dad was, but hopefully I can do it justice."