The star onballer has agreed to honour a contract he signed with the Lions, but had been trying to break in a bid to be cleared to South Bendigo.

In a long-running saga, Horbury’s request to leave was twice denied by Redan and failed again at appeal.

The 24-year-old has been named in the Lions’ senior side to take on East Point on Saturday.

Horbury said he considered sitting out the entire season, but had decided to return to the Lions after discussing the matter with respected friends.

“They put it in pretty good context, so I listened to them, I guess, and decided I wanted to have a kick,” Horbury said.

Horbury was locked in a similar contractual battle with the North Ballarat Roosters last year, with his clearance from the VFL side to Redan held up for months until finally being approved ahead of round four.

The Victoria Country representative said he held no animosity towards the Lions.

“They’ve been pretty good to me for a long time and it’s my fault for signing the contract, so I can’t really get angry at anybody else,” Horbury said.

Horbury admitted a move to South Bendigo was an option for 2017, but said he would wait until returning from overseas holiday before committing to any clubs.

“I’ll play the year out at Redan and do everything I can there and reassess at the end of year when we get back from the trip to America,” he said.