McAlpine won the Weissel Medal in his lone season with the club in 2012 and is back for another taste of the cherry capital.

The 36-year-old was considering retirement after a stellar career with Orange CYMS, which saw him win four premierships in green and gold to go along with the title he won with Bathurst Panthers back in 2007, as well as a Group 10 player of the year award in 2013 and a Dave Scott Medal the same year, but believes the year off has left him refreshed.

He's looking forward to a different challenge.

"Having this year off changed my mind on things," McAlpine said.

"I've had two hip surgeries in the last two years and I didn't know how I was going to go with that but having this year off helped."

While McAlpine lived in Young during his first stint with the club this time around he will be part of their travelling contingent.

He believes it will suit his family much better but is looking forward to returning to Young.

"I really enjoyed my time at Young, every year they contact me and I've always been happy with CYMS but just wanted a change," McAlpine said. "It gives me some more motivation to get fit and they're a strong side on paper."

Young coach Nick Hall is thrilled to have McAlpine on board.

With the Cornish brothers already secured, Nick Hall is thrilled to add someone with McAlpine's experience and pedigree to the mix.

"He will be very handy for us," Hall said.

"We've lost Jenko (Tom Jenkins) and Hally (Nic Hall) and were looking to replace at least one of them."

While it has almost been a decade since McAlpine was last in Group Nine, Hall is confident he can step up to the mark once more.

"He's very skillful, very classy and he was a laconic sort of player back then," Hall said.

"You might not see him and he might not be imposing himself all over the game but he played a bit of six, one and three for us and wasn't always bombarding the game but at the end of it he would have four tries.

"He was one of those guys who could just tear it apart when he wanted to and he's always in the game."