Geelong’s dual premiership hero Mitch Duncan will join West Coast as an assistant coach immediately after retiring as a player.
The 34-year-old last month announced his decision to call time on his career, following his likely last game in the VFL.
Duncan will not officially hang up the boots until the end of the Cats’ AFL campaign but he has already settled on his next move.
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The 305-game veteran will return home to Western Australia to join the Eagles, 7NEWS Perth’s Ryan Daniels reported on Monday night.
The move back to Perth comes despite Duncan previously saying it “would be pretty hard” to leave his adopted hometown.
“Obviously I’ve got pretty solid roots in Geelong; I’ve got four kids and a wife, and the wife’s family, so that would be pretty hard,” he said at the start of August.
“But I suppose when you get to this part in your career, all these options can potentially open up, so we’ll weigh those up as they come through and see where it all lands and do what’s best for us as a family, not necessarily just me.
“It’s a little bit exciting though, potentially, of that happening. But obviously (there is) a lot of water to go under the bridge.”
Duncan will join West Coast alongside Sam Radford, who arrives from 10 years on Melbourne’s coaching staff, as senior coach Andrew McQualter overhauls his coaching staff.
Former interim Jarrad Schofield, Luke Webster and Ryan Turnbull have all departed the Eagles.
Schofield has been appointed senior coach at WAFL club Subiaco while Webster will switch to Port Adelaide to work under new coach Josh Carr.
West Coast are yet to announce Duncan’s signature, with his future role currently unclear.
He played on the wing, up forward and as a running defender for the Cats while he was also a long-time member of their leadership group.
He finished in the top 10 of the club best-and-fairest count seven times and played finals in 12 of his 16 seasons.
“Every day I thank Stephen Wells for calling out my name on draft night in 2009,” Duncan said in a club statement on his retirement.
“I’m grateful to have been part of this club, a club filled with so many great people past and present, who have not only taught me about football, but have also helped mould me into the person I am.”
Former teammate Andrew Mackie, now Geelong’s football boss, said Duncan had been an outstanding person and footballer at the Cats.
“A trademark over Mitch’s 305 games to date has been his skill and high football IQ, allowing him to play with such flexibility for whatever the team has required, and continues to be a true team-first player,” Mackie said.
“Mitch’s value has not been just with how he plays the game, but with how he has shared his knowledge and experience with the younger generations of Cats players who have come through the ranks over his career.
“He will continue to play an important part within our squad over this coming finals campaign.”
- with AAP
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