Cheney, who appeared in 85 AFL games between Hawthorn, Melbourne and Adelaide, will return to play for the club he played his junior football with.

Cheney's older brother Jacob is an Eagles stalwart and the chance to compete alongside him influenced his decision to sign.

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"I've been keen to do it for a long period of time and my older brother Jacob's still playing there and getting older and slower as the days go on," Cheney laughed.

"It's probably at a point whether he was going to retire or try and squeeze a year in with me.

"So I thought the timing was perfect to go home and play a year with him along with some close friends of mine that still play there as well."

32-year-old Cheney finished up in the AFL after the 2018 season and was able to make a one-off appearance for the Eagles in 2019.

While Cheney described it as a "great experience", he unfortunately didn't get to play with Jacob as he "went down with a hammy" during the Thursday night training.

Cheney along with his family reside near Adelaide. They have committed to making the commute to the Wimmera every weekend, so he can once again pull on his beloved Eagles guernsey.

"When I first finished AFL I thought that we'd maybe move back one day and play. But that is starting to get further and further away," Cheney said.

"With Jacob not too far away from retirement we're going to do the travelling. Which is a bit of an ask and I'm sure at the mid-way point of the season I'll have had enough of it.

"But we're excited and we've been starved of opportunities to see family over the last couple of years and my wife and I have two little daughters that haven't seen their grandparents as often as we'd like.

"The opportunity to get home of a weekend will be great not only for the footy side of things but to catch up with family as well."

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Although when he returned in 2019 Cheney played as a forward, he expects that in 2022 he will likely play as a defender where he has spent the majority of his career playing.

"I haven't spoken to Daniel (Bell) about what roles I'd be expected to play, but I can only assume it would be across the half-back line and playing as close to Jacob as I can," he said.

Since he left the AFL, Cheney has been pulling on the boots for the Hahndorf Football Club in the Hills Football League, alongside some former Crows' teammates Jared Petrenko and Matthew Jaensch.

The club has won the last four Division one A Grade premierships, with Cheney playing in the last three.

According to the former Adelaide Crow, leaving Hahndorf during such a successful period was "something that certainly made this decision a lot harder".

"Especially when we've just won a flag a few weeks ago and still coming down off the high of that and the memories that were involved," he said.

"Telling some of my close mates there that I wouldn't be going around next year was difficult, but they all understood as to the reasons why. I loved my time there."

The last time the Warrack Eagles won a Wimmera Football Netball League premiership was in 2002 and in 2021 they were only able to win the one game. Cheney is hopeful that he can play a role in turning that around.

"It's no surprise the last couple of years have been tough for a number of reasons," he said.

"But success has eluded Warrack for a long time.

"We've been starved of success and if I can come home and help get a few more recruits over the line and strive for that ultimate success, then why not? Let's have a crack at it."

Although Cheney has experienced the ultimate success many times in recent years, it would mean a lot for him to experience something similar at his childhood club.

"Winning flags is winning flags, but if I came home and saluted in my hometown that would just be that extra bit special I would have thought," he said.

"There's obviously a long way to go and we'll see how we go from here."

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