JAMES Hird, Essendon's retired champion, has denied a report in The Age that he is considering a comeback to AFL football.

The former premiership captain, who retired at the end of 2007, told SEN radio this morning that he was "happily retired" and was in no shape to be considering a return to football.

Hird, 35, said rumours that he had kept himself in top physical condition were exactly that, rumours, and were probably started by his teammates.

"I couldn't be further away from coming back and playing football," Hird said on SEN.

And when asked about his physical condition, he said: "It's nothing more than a couple of blokes ribbing me because I've put on a bit of weight."

Speculation about a return to football for Hird came about when he shared a holiday to the United States recently with some Essendon players, including captain Matthew Lloyd. The possibility of a comeback was raised, and Hird's former teammates were keen.

But the Essendon football club has embarked on a youth policy since Matthew Knights took over as coach from Kevin Sheedy and Knights has taken a tough stand on Essendon senior players this year, retiring former best-and-fairest winner Jason Johnson, Adam Ramanauskas and Damien Peverill at the end of the season.

Despite this policy, the report in The Age said the Bombers' coaching panel believed Hird would worth pursuing if he nominated for either the national or pre-season drafts.

But Hird has ruled it out. "I'm happily retired," he said.

Hird finished his career as one of the great modern AFL footballers, with 253 games over 16 seasons, highlighted by two premierships in 1993 and 2000 and a Brownlow medal in 1996.