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'He will tear this league apart': Mitch Clark to play WA country footy in 2017

Former Brisbane Lions teammates Mitch Clark and Ash McGrath will reunite at a country football club 50km south-east of Perth in 2017.

Mundijong Centrals will roll out a star-studded line-up this season, with Clark and McGrath spearheading the club's push for a return to finals in the Peel Football Netball League. 

Clark played 82 of his total 106 games at the top level with Brisbane after being drafted by the club with the ninth overall pick in 2005.

He was traded to Melbourne at the end of the 2011 season, where he signed a lucrative deal before retiring in 2014 after being diagnosed with clinical depression.

The talented big man made a return to AFL football with the Geelong Cats, where he played nine games, before his AFL career came to an end last season.

Now Clark is set to don a Centrals jersey in 2017.

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"He will tear this league apart," Mundijong player-coach Toby McGrath said.

"We're really happy he has decided to come and play for us this year and his arrival, along with some of our other recruits, has really brought the club to life this off-season.

"He's a great bloke and having him on board has encouraged more boys to get down to training and we're really looking forward to 2017."

Joining Clark at Mundijong Oval will be 214-game AFL premiership player Ash McGrath, who arrived at Centrals in 2016.

Brother of coach Toby, Ash McGrath's second efforts and ability to conjure goals from unlikely situations made him a legend in his career with the Lions.

McGrath's goal after the siren to complete a remarkable comeback for Brisbane against Geelong was one of the most remarkable stories of the 2013 AFL season.

But Toby McGrath said the most encouraging aspect of the duo's reunion was the breath of fresh air it had brought to the club's young locals.

"We've got a really good base of local guys who now know they need to train really hard for a spot," the third-year coach said.

"I think the culture around our club right now is really good. Getting new lights has allowed us to train better and host night games and everyone is really buying in to the culture.

"Hopefully we can take that culture and turn it into some positive results on the field."

Mundijong won seven games last year, many of them upsets against top sides, but narrowly missed out on playing finals.

They will look to rectify their absence from last year's finals with a strong showing this time around.

Centrals' season kicks off with their first ever twilight match against South Mandurah on Saturday, April 1.