Daniel McBreen, 45, set for comeback at Edgeworth Eagles in NPL NNSW

The A-League 2012-13 Golden Boot winner and grand final man of the match for the Mariners, who turns 46 next month, last played when Edgeworth claimed the 2019 NPL Northern NSW grand final against Maitland.

McBreen has since spent time as the Jets Youth coach and carved out a career as a football pundit but he returned to Eagles training in the off-season.

Edgeworth coach Peter McGuinness said McBreen was set to come off the bench against Magic in round two at Jack McLaughlan Oval and would feature this year when free of his TV commitments.

"It depends on his roster and things, but he's trained more than he's ever trained, and he said he's available for selection this week," McGuinness said.

"Age doesn't worry me. Whether they are young or old. I've used 40 year olds before. At Lakes I used older players."

McBreen will add experience and a physical presence to the club's front line, which lost Jeremy Brockie and Will Bower from last season and features young talent like Sascha Montefiore, Archie Finn and Cody Nancarrow.

McGuinness said McBreen would serve as an extra coach on the field and he had already been helping in many ways.

"He contributes on the training paddock with the younger guys, different aspects around the training pitch and the dressing shed," he said. "He's an asset for the club."

McBreen played at Edgeworth before embarking on his professional career at Newcastle in 2000. He returned to the Eagles in 2016, scoring twice in the 2-1 grand final win over Broadmeadow that year and earning man of the match honours.

He begins his comeback after Edgeworth started the season with a 2-0 win over Newcastle Olympic last Saturday at Darling Street Oval. Montefiore and Joe Melmeth scored second-half goals

"I thought the first half, neither team were really on top of things," McGuinness said.

"There weren't many real chances first half, but second half I thought we did heaps better. We played through them a bit better and created a few chances and took a couple, which was good."

He hoped to get midfielder Dylan Holz (glutes soreness) back to training this week, while Tyson Jackson and Josh Rose could return to the starting side after coming off the bench against Olympic as they worked their way back from injuries.

Broadmeadow also opened the season with a 2-0 win, downing Weston on Friday night at Magic Park with penalties from Jarred Baker in the 63^rd and 66^th minutes.

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