Geelong has appointed experienced strength and conditioning coach Desmond O'Sullivan following the departure of Scott Murphy.

Murphy informed the club in June that he was leaving for Rugby Australia after the 2024 campaign, opening a vacancy at Kardinia Park.

O'Sullivan's signing comes with an array of experience over the last 12 years, most recently holding the position of senior strength and conditioning coach at the Western Bulldogs, where he has been for the last three seasons.

Before his time at the Bulldogs, O'Sullivan spent nine years at Essendon Football Club in a variety of high-performance and sports science roles.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 20: Max Holmes of the Cats celebrates with fans during the round nine AFL match between Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats at The Gabba, on April 20, 2024, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Geelong Cats General Manager of Football Andrew Mackie welcomed O'Sullivan to the Club.

โ€œWe welcome Des to Geelong Football Club; he comes to the Club with a wealth of knowledge and experience in AFL high performance," Mackie said.

โ€œWe're looking forward to having Des oversee our physical performance and medical teams and believe he will be an excellent addition to our football program.โ€

O'Sullivan will start with the Cats in November.

It is understood that Richmond and Sydney are still on the lookout for new performance managers following the departures of Luke Meehan and Rob Inness.

The latter was poached by Carlton to replace Andrew Russell.