Discarded AFL player Jason Akermanis says the desire to help a struggling club spurred him on to return to competitive football with Tasmanian side Glenorchy.

Glenorchy take on arch-rivals and reigning premiers Clarence in the Tasmanian State League season-opener on Saturday, a clash expected to draw a crowd of more than 6,000 people.

Akermanis, a Brownlow Medallist and triple-premiership winner with Brisbane, was given his marching orders from the Western Bulldogs last July when he upset the rest of the playing group.

The 34-year-old was unable to find a new home in the AFL and signed with Glenorchy last September.

There will be a fair bit of pressure on Akermanis to perform, with Glenorchy general manager Jaimes Wiggins calling his signing "one of the greatest things to ever happen to Tassie footy".

Akermanis said the desire to finish his career on a positive note motivated him to pull on the boots for another season.

"You want to finish better than that, but that's not the only spur," he said.

"I suppose the overall help of another team was the major motivation.

"This year's a different year, a different group. There's going to be a whole lot of positives - not just for me, but for the club and the competition."

Akermanis said a light pre-season with Melbourne side Aberfeldie had him in good shape.

"I haven't had to go through four months of daily hard running, so it's really good for this stage of the year," he said.

"This'll stop me from getting fat like some of the other footballers."

Akermanis said he hadn't given much thought to his former teammates at the Bulldogs.

"Time just passes, they'll let me back into the fold one day," he said.

"I haven't lost any sleep over it... do you go back to the old job? Do you go back to your old boss? Nah, I don't think so."

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