Watson returns for Dons

THE spiritual leader of the Essendon Football Club is officially a born-again Bomber.

Jobe Watson has locked in a return to AFL football, committing to the club he captained for six seasons before a year-long doping ban.

The 31-year-old doesn’t know how he’ll perform in the AFL next season or whether he will remain as skipper.

But after a “liberating” gap year, the 31-year-old confirmed yesterday he would return in 2017 to continue his decorated career with the Bombers.

Watson was one of 34 past and present Essendon players banned this season because of the 2012 supplements scandal, and the last of the 12 current Bombers to declare his plans.

He said if he’d made a decision before his overseas break, the outcome would have been different.

“When I left I didn’t think I would be back playing AFL,” he said. “I (leaned) either way for a long time.”

Watson said he needed to escape the AFL bubble to work it out, spending time in New York City and on holidays abroad to clear his head.

“I had to get away and think about what I wanted to do with life,” he said. “I came back and wanted to see how I was feeling when I was back in Melbourne.”

After talking with “really inspiring” coach John Worsfold this week, Watson said he felt at peace with his decision.

But he said he hadn’t thought about the captaincy, which will be voted on by players next year.

Watson’s return means the club has secured 10 of the 12 banned Bombers, with only Michael Hibberd hoping to find a new AFL home at Melbourne and Tayte Pears pursuing a career in firefighting.