Former Richmond utility Luke McGuane signalled his desire to join the Brisbane Lions early in the AFL trade period, and eventually reached his preferred destination on Monday when he signed with the Club as a delisted free agent.

Less than 24 hours after putting pen to paper, McGuane began pre-season training with his new teammates, before departing for Arizona the following day.

When asked on Tuesday whether his decision was motivated more by the prospect of returning home to Queensland or a potential reunion with former Tigers assistant Justin Leppitsch, the 26-year-old said “both”.  

“It was just a good opportunity, everything was falling into place with Justin coming up here and I also had a chance to get home because I was out of contract,” McGuane said.

“I was very happy at Richmond – it wasn’t like I was dying to get out of there. It was just the timing of everything. It was my opportunity to get home.”

McGuane joins a small group of senior Lions players who have previously experienced Leppitsch ‘the coach’, and believes the three-time premiership-winning centre half-back will be suited to the senior role.   

“He’s pretty relaxed and doesn’t get too stressed out with a lot of things. He’s pretty jovial and pretty happy,” McGuane said.

“Obviously he’s going to have to be serious at times and will be, but he treads that line really well and connects with the players really well.”