Cross, 36, retired with more than 100 games under his belt after Wakatipu won the Central title in 2022.
He says he has "heaps of reasons" for returning.
"The body feels good and I feel fit enough.
"Seeing guys older than me still doing it made me wonder maybe I should be doing it as well — you’re a long time retired."
Wakatipu’s ‘home’ game last weekend, ironically, was at derby foe Arrowtown’s Jack Reid Park as the Queenstown Rec Ground was taken.
Though the score blew out against a leading Southland premier side, Cross says it was a good hit-out for "a really young team".
"A lot of our young guys actually stepped out quite nicely.
"I feel like we went pretty well and we’re building quite nicely to our first game."
He adds key players like Rube Peina and Anton Huisman are still to come back.
Wakatipu play Invercargill’s Star at the Rec Ground this Saturday at 1.30pm for their last preseason hit-out.
They then have a first-round bye before starting their season with a White Horse Cup defence against Alexandra on March 29.
Meanwhile, Arrowtown Premiers travel to Wyndham for their final hit-out this weekend before tackling Matakanui at home on the 22nd to kick off their season.
