Recently retired Tiger Troy Chaplin joins Melbourne coaching panel

Recently retired Richmond defender Troy Chaplin has joined Melbourne's coaching panel as an offensive co-ordinator.

The 30-year-old announced his retirement from football in July this season, after playing 207 matches for Port Adelaide and Richmond.

He continued to work at the Tigers in a coaching capacity for the remainder of the season, impressing in his role as an assistant coach.

"There's been a little bit of speculation the last few weeks. The way it came about was Josh Mahoney gave me a phone call the other week and really wanted to have a chat," Chaplin said.

"A couple of days later, he asked if I'd be willing to join the club in a coaching capacity. I thought about it for a couple of days but it didn't take too long to make a decision."

Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said he is looking forward to seeing Chaplin bring some fresh ideas to the clubs in 2017.

"Troy has been preparing for coaching for the past five years, working with the Sturt Football Club and more recently with the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup, so he’s invested in coaching while finishing his playing career," Mahoney said.

"He presented really well and he’s fresh out of the game and comes in with some new ideas.

"We think it’s important for our coaching group to add some young recently retired players to our group, as the rest of our group is quite experienced with Ben Mathews, Jade Rawlings, Brendan McCartney and Matthew Egan. To add Troy to our mix will add a new perspective."