FORMER Portland footballer Keegan Gray is embarking on a new journey in his football career, joining Gold Coast-based club Southport Sharks for the upcoming VFL season.

Gray has spent the last six seasons in the VFL playing with Werribee, after last playing for Portland in 2017 having started his journey with Heywood in the now defunct Portland Junior Football Association.

In that time, he racked up 48 games at the second-highest level of the code, which culminated last season in him playing in their grand final loss to Gold Coast.

He said the decision to move away from Victoria and to a club up in the northern part of the country came down to a “lifestyle decision.”

“Lifestyle was probably the biggest reason, I know a few people who have moved up to this part of the country and recommended it highly, so I figured I’d give it a go, it was pretty enticing” Gray said.

“Southport has been a really successful club over the years… obviously I wasn’t here last season, but they’ve spoken about how it was a disappointing year to be towards the lower end of the ladder (the Sharks finished 14th out of 21 teams and missed finals) and they’re looking to turn that around.”

Gray said he feels he has fit in quite well with both the culture and game style of the club, although he has only played in one out of their three practice matches up to this point.

“We’ve won all three of them and I had a crack in our match against GWS last weekend, I think it bodes well for a strong season at the club,” he said.

“I feel like I’ve fitted in pretty well, it’s a good club to be around and a lot of my teammates live nearby so its pretty easy to organise to go down to the beach or catch up.”

On his departure from Werribee, Gray said he has “only got good things to say about the club” adding that he’d really enjoyed the past few years playing there.

“I loved the time I spent playing there, I made a lot of friends who will hopefully be mates for life, it was just time for a change.”

In addition to his commitment to Southport, Gray has also signed with Wilston Grange Australian Football Club, who he will play for when not selected to represent the Sharks.

“They have a couple of players from Warrnambool way and their coaches have been with South Warrnambool, it’s good to have that country football connection there,” he said.

Outside of football, Gray has taken on employment as a support worker, saying that decision came about as a result of recommendations by some of his friends.

“I was told it’s a really rewarding career by a few mates who have done it, so I figured I’d give it a go,” he said.

“It’s a nice lifestyle in this part of the world, pretty cruisy which suits me.”

Southport’s first game of the season gets underway tomorrow when they host Port Melbourne at Fankhauser Reserve.