TADHG Kennelly's Sydney Swans teammates have greeted news of his impending return with unanimous approval and excitement.

After months of speculation, Kennelly agreed to a two-year deal on Thursday night that will see him resume his AFL career at the Swans in 2010.

Co-captain Brett Kirk said the 28-year-old's trademark dash off half back would be a crucial ingredient as the Swans chased a finals berth.

"Having recruited the likes of Rhyce Shaw and Marty Mattner, and with Nick Malceski back there, we're going to have some great run with bringing Tadhg back into the team.

"Those guys haven't played a lot of footy together so we're really looking forward to having some real rebound, which you need in AFL footy these days."

Kirk said the whole team had been inspired by Kennelly's successful return to Gaelic football in 2009, where he emulated his late father, Tim, by winning an All-Ireland title with his county, Kerry.

"We're just so proud of what he's been able to achieve. It's just a huge effort on his behalf." he said.

"We just respect him so much and to hear he's able to come back now and to join us again, it's great for the club."

Fellow co-captain Adam Goodes said Kennelly would add some welcome experience and character to the playing group.

"Tadhg will come straight back into some sort of leadership role outside the leadership group, whatever that might be, because that's the type of player and character Tadhg Kennelly is," he said.

"We've lost a few characters last year with Micky O, Crouchy, Leo Barry and the like, so it's good to have Tadhg back. It will be good to have him back on deck and he'll hopefully give us a bit of colour."

Jude Bolton said speculation about Kennelly's return had been rife among the players and he was delighted to see it come to fruition.

"We've been listening to all the innuendo and it's just exciting to know he's going to be back. He's a quality player and a quality bloke as well," he said.

"We've been trying to work out who'd spoken to him and who'd heard bits and pieces.

"We obviously didn't want to hassle him while he was preparing for the title over there and it was great to see him fulfil his dream. We just knew that gave us a little more hope that he might come back."

Defender Martin Mattner, who spent his first season at the Swans playing alongside Kennelly, looked forward to renewing their partnership.

"It'll make my job a lot easier back there and it's good to have three or four blokes down there who can play that position," he said.

"Shawry will probably push into the midfield and Nick Malceski has been running well. The more players we've got, the more competition there is for spots and the better it is for the team."

Those sentiments were shared by tall backman Lewis Roberts-Thomson.

"He's got a wealth of experience, having played in the premiership in '05. He's played over 150 games so to have him back in the side is very exciting," he said.

"Tadhg brings a lot of attacking nous to the backline and he's a bit of a general down in defence, so it will be great for our structure moving forward."