Nathan Krakouer will play for Adelaide Footy League club Prince Alfred Old Collegians this season
FORMER Port Adelaide utility Nathan Krakouer will line up with a local club after pulling the pin on his 82-game AFL career.
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NATHAN Krakouer always knew he was going to pull the pin on his AFL career at the end of last season.
Krakouer, 29, announced his retirement in October after 69 games with Port Adelaide and 13 at Gold Coast.
He did not play at the elite level last year and was unavailable for Port’s SANFL grand final loss to Sturt because of a hamstring injury.
Krakouer says the time is right for him to take a step back so he can spend time with his two sons.
The utility will play for Prince Alfred Old Collegians in the Adelaide Footy League’s division one competition this coming season.
“I think I was always going to end up retiring,” Krakouer says.
“I’ve got to take care of some things in my personal life.
“The club (Port) has helped me out a lot, but now I want to move onto the next chapter of my life and enjoy some time with family and friends.”
Krakouer has had a break from the AFL once before.
He walked out on the Gold Coast at the end of the Suns’ inaugural season in 2011 and returned to his home state of WA, where he played country football in Leonora, two hours north of Kalgoorlie.
Krakouer made a remarkable return to Port, playing initially with the Magpies and then in 29 games for the Power, only for two off-field issues – damaging a taxi in September and getting his jaw broken in an assault outside a Perth nightclub in March 2016 – to mar his second stint at Alberton.
He did not want to comment about either of the incidents but said not playing AFL last year was tough.
“I reckon once I started the season, I probably had an idea that I wasn’t going to be playing much, unless something went my way.
“So one of the main things was just trying to help the young guys at training and help them get better with the little things like positioning and trying to read the play a bit better.”
Krakouer says his post-AFL life is “stress-free”.
He is hopeful he can help PAOC make a grand final and is looking forward to assisting with the club’s youngsters.
Away from football, Krakouer is working with Port Adelaide Football Club’s WillPower program, which aims to boost school retention and promote healthy choices.
“There’s a lot of things that I can take care of now in my life,” he says.
“I think the div one competition (has) the guys that are just missing out on SANFL and I wanted to compete against them and obviously pick a level where, I guess, the commitment to pre-season training isn’t as tough.
“Also (former Power player) Wade Thompson is out here as well ... so I wanted to have a bit of fun playing alongside him.”
PAOC coach Brett Backwell says the club works hard to help former AFL players return to everyday life after their top-level careers.
Backwell is pleased to have Krakouer and Thompson, who comes back to the club after claiming the best-on-ground medal for PAOC in its 2016 grand final win then sitting out last season.
“We just want to bring quality people and talent’s a bonus,” Backwell says.
“Nathan is just a really good, quality person, who we think can add to the footy club.
“We generally care about him and every player.”
Originally published as Nathan Krakouer will play for Adelaide Footy League club Prince Alfred Old Collegians this season
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