Trent West comes out of retirement again to play alongside former Brisbane teammate Lewis Taylor

Geelong premiership player Trent West has made a habit of coming out of retirement, and he will now link up with a former AFL teammate at a country club.

Trent West is back in local footy. Picture: Mark Wilson

Former Geelong and Brisbane player Trent West is coming out of retirement — again.

The 37-year-old ruckman will reunite with his former Brisbane teammate and Tereng Mortlake playing coach Lewis Taylor in the Hampden league this weekend.

West helped Leopold to a grand final in 2022 after being coaxed out of retirement by coach Garry Hocking, with West and the Lions going on to win the premiership the next year.

The Geelong premiership ruck hung up the boots a month after that 2023 grand final triumph but bobbed up in Leopold’s reserves side in 2024, playing a handful of games.

And as you can probably guess, he didn’t need much convincing from Taylor this time.

Trent West after Leopold’s 2023 premiership win. Picture: Mark Wilson

Trent West on the dais. Picture: Mark Wilson

“He’s had a little bit of a lay-off with footy for a year or two. I played with ‘Westy’ back when he came up to Brisbane, so I got to know him up there,” Taylor explained.

“Just been chatting to him here and there over the last little bit and he came to training and he enjoyed it. And here we are, he is going to play with us this weekend

“He loves his footy, the other night he enjoyed coming down and being around footy clubs can ignite that spark.

“Looking forward to it, he’s had a little bit of time off so we will look to manage him a bit early and look after him.

“The thing with ‘Westy’, he’s a great fella as well, so if you can get some good people around your club as well as some quality, it’s a double hit.”

Terang-Mortlake has won four of its last five games and West will bolster their side ahead of a clash with the undefeated North Warrnambool.

He has had the Midas touch in the past, but Taylor — who won thw 2014 Rising Star award ahead of Western Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli — said it will take more than West to deliver them a flag.

“We’ve still got to come out and play, not one player is going to win you a premiership, but adding him is going to help — especially for our younger taller guys as well,” Taylor said.

“We’re just expecting him to come down and just hoping he enjoys his footy down here, which I think he will.”

West will join fellow Cats premiership player Gary Rohan in the Hampden league.

Rohan was delisted from the Cats last year despite being keen to play on and has slotted six goals in six games for Port Fairy this season.

Originally published as Trent West comes out of retirement again to play alongside former Brisbane teammate Lewis Taylor