Former Adelaide and Carlton player Sam Kerridge never thought he would stick around in Melbourne after his AFL career ended.

Kerridge, who played 69 AFL games for the Crows and Carlton from 2012-2018, had big plans to work for a little bit and then travel.

But that didn’t eventuate and despite his plan not coming to fruition, he has no regrets about remaining in Melbourne to work for a construction company - the John Holland Group.

“I actually started out as a labourer and I had ambitions to travel and then work,” Kerridge said.

“Being a labourer was an easy option because you get paid pretty well and I had the freedom to be flexible with my working hours.

“Then like most people in most jobs, I got stuck in the little working world, I worked my way up and I’ve been with John Holland now for three years, it’s been really good.

“My best mate was working in the industry, so I got involved and I’ve sort of been here ever since.

“We’ve got a good little crew that I work with, we are all around the same age and we all get along like a house on fire, so it’s really enjoyable.”

Kerridge is now a track supervisor with the company and is currently working on building a new metro train tunnel.

“There’s a few areas that my role involves, but it’s mainly around what we call a ballast, which is the rocks that the (train) tracks sit on,” Kerridge said.

“Anything to do with the railway line itself we repair, replace, grip-up or put in new stuff for this new metro tunnel.”

Kerridge hasn’t been lost to footy, either, and has played locally in Victoria since hanging up the AFL boots at the end of 2018.

“I was player/coach at the White Hills Football Club, as I had a few mates from school kicking about down there and I said I’d come have a kick if we could rally the troops together,” Kerridge said.

“I was lucky enough to have three years there, despite two of them being affected by Covid, unfortunately.

“Now I’m playing for the Alexandra Football Club in the Outer Eastern League.

“My partner’s sister’s husband plays down that way and I was keen to get involved and have a kick with him, so I’ve been there for the past 12 months.”

Originally from Mildura, Kerridge was drafted with Pick No.27 at the 2011 National AFL Draft.

He made his debut for Adelaide against Hawthorn in Round Three, 2012, and went on to win the Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award that season.

He spent the next few years playing as a tagger for the Crows, before being traded to Carlton ahead of the 2016 season.

Kerridge then lined up in 42 games for the Blues, before his AFL career came to an end at the end of 2018.

The 29-year-old says he is still in contact with a few of his former Crows teammates and  enjoys watching footy when he can.

“I do miss playing AFL,” Kerridge said.

“I think anyone who has been in the system appreciates the opportunity to have been able to live your dream everyday.

“But I have also enjoyed my time out of it, it’s just something I look back on now and appreciate how lucky I was.”