Four-time Hawthorn premiership player Cyril Rioli is set to make a rare return to football in Victoria later this month.

Rioli will line up for Murray Football League club Tongala for its clash against Cobram on Saturday, June 27.

It will be one of Rioli's few football appearances in Victoria since his decorated AFL career came to an end.

The 36-year-old now lives in Darwin and has most recently spent time playing for Northern Territory Football League Division 1 club Jabiru Bombers.

Tongala announced the signing on social media, with the club clearly thrilled to have a player of Rioli's calibre pull on its jumper.

"TFNC are thrilled to announce Cyril Rioli will be pulling on the blue jumper for a landmark game at Tongala on Saturday, 27 June," the club announced.

"We are beyond excited to have him join our boys at our home game against Cobram!"

Rioli played 189 AFL games for Hawthorn and kicked 275 goals across a brilliant career.

He won four flags with the Hawks and was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for his performance in the 2015 AFL Grand Final.

Rioli was also a three-time All-Australian and won the AFL's Goal of the Year in 2009.

While his public appearances have been limited in recent years, Rioli returned to Marvel Stadium last year for the EJ Whitten Legends Game.

He reminded football fans of his talent during that exhibition match and was awarded best on ground in front of a crowd of more than 31,000 people.

Tongala president Daniel Cox told the Herald Sun the idea of bringing Rioli to the club started as a long shot, before it eventually became a reality.

"It's been in the pipeline for a few months," Cox said.

"We've held it close to our chest until we could confirm it."

The club's Northern Territory football connections helped make the appearance possible.

Former Tongala player and NTFL coach Chris Baksh helped start the conversation, while Tongala player Cam Ilett also played a role in getting the deal over the line.

"To be honest we thought it was a shot in the dark and it would never gain traction," Cox told the Herald Sun.

"He's a very shy character, so we didn't want to hound it too much, but he was more than happy to jump on board, which was great.

"Everything fell into place and he reckoned he would be a pretty good fit (with the club).

"Cam Ilett was a good piece of the puzzle with it all, he knew him from Darwin and played a lot of footy with his relatives.

"It all stemmed a bit from that and Chris Baksh the coach who used to play at Tongala."

Rioli's appearance is expected to draw a big crowd to Tongala, which is also known as the home club of West Coast young gun Harley Reid.

Cobram will also likely have former AFL player Jackson Trengove in its side for the match.