 In 2002, Žilić returned to Croatia where he would spend the next six seasons playing in the Prva HNL with Šibenik, NK Zagreb and Hajduk Split.After spending the 2007-2008 season outside the Hajduk first team, training with the junior team, he went to the Druga HNL team NK Solin, where he stayed until January 2009, when he signed for the Slovenian team Drava Ptuj.After a year and a half there, he returned to his hometown club, the fourth-tier NK Orkan, serving both as a player and a youth team coach.