Former Collingwood and Fremantle stalwart Chris Mayne has returned to his former WAFL side Perth for 2022, joining the Demons in a development role under coach Garry Moss.
Mayne called time on his 248-game career in August, concluding a 14-season stint that included two grand final appearances and over 200 goals.
The 33-year-old has since ventured back to his home state of Western Australia, taking on the director of football role with Trinity College as well as his new position with Perth.
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Mayne is sure to relay a strong degree of experience to both the emerging Demons and Trinity players, however the former Dockers forward hasn't ruled out pulling on the boots for the former himself.
โIโll see how the body is feeling,โ Mayne told The West Australian'sย Jordan McArdle.
โI said to Mossy that Iโll do some training, Iโll do some coaching and see how the body is going in the New Year.
โBut even in saying that, being director of footy I can be there on game day having a look and still shoot off to my game.
โTraining sessions can be orchestrated where Iโm still able to get to footy training later in the afternoon.
โItโll be more about time management and making sure that my family still comes first because theyโve definitely sacrificed a fair bit over the journey.
โIf I decide that Iโm going to play, Iโll let Mossy know that Iโm ready to go and pull the boots on for the might Redlegs, but Ideally Iโm just looking at developing some of the colts and some of the senior players and giving them the best opportunity to play consistent footy and put their hand up for the next draft.โ
Mayne has set his ambitions on eventually moving into the coaching landscape, with the Belmont product even discussing his options with the Dockers and Eagles before joining Trinity.
โI wanted to either jump into the coaching realm and start my journey to becoming a senior coach one day or jump into a PSA school, finish off my teaching degree which is only a couple of years away and be a director of footy,โ Mayne added.
โI had a chat with both West Coast and Freo and things werenโt just there right now and I said โno worriesโ.
โI was fortunate enough to still have really good connections at the Perth Football Club we were able to make an introduction and from there, I went across to Trinity and the director of footy role came up."
The Demons amassed a disappointing ninth-place finish in 2021, recording just four wins from their 18 matches for the year.
Trinity will also be looking for redemption next year, having gone without a Public Schools Association title in 14 years and failing to record a single victory in 2021.
