Andrew McLeod says it's the nature of the beast.

Just five months after ending one of the AFL's most decorated careers, McLeod announced a comeback.

The former Adelaide Crows champion will play for the Northern Territory Thunder this season in the Queensland league.

The AFL great said he agreed to play seven games for the Thunder this season for a variety of reasons.

"It's a bit of nature of the beast," McLeod said on Wednesday.

"You're coming straight out of training pretty much every day anyway, so I'm keeping myself in reasonable shape and I'm pretty confident that my body will be able to hold up to it."

A desire to mentor young NT players, and also help the AFL's brand in his native Northern Territory, were other reasons.

The 34-year-old rejected Thunder overtures to play a full season.

"They came to me a while ago and asked if I would be keen," he said.

"Initially they wanted me to play fulltime but I just couldn't make that commitment with my work with the AFL."

McLeod was appointed an AFL ambassador and works in the league's indigenous program, and last month addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on racism in sport.

The 34-year-old, who quit Adelaide after a club record 340 games when his wonky knee gave into the demands of the AFL, said he now had a simple goal: getting a kick for the Thunder.

"You pride yourself on the way you perform so you have got to go out there and get a kick," he said.

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