AFL great Steve Johnson appointed coach of Yarrawonga for next two years

The club announced on Friday night at its presentation night that Johnson has signed a two-year deal.

He replaces Mark Whiley at the helm.

In a further bonus, Whiley will remain with the Pigeons as a player.

Football operations manager Leigh Ramsdale said the arrival of Johnson was not only a massive boost to the club, but to the community as a whole and the competition.

"Steve boasts a huge profile for what he has achieved and the exposure that he will give our club and the competition should prove invaluable," Ramsdale said. "We are fortunate to have some great sponsors and we can give them some exposure.

"Before it was announced there was talk about it on SEN and the Herald Sun and hopefully our sponsors can get something out of that with the national exposure.

"Most importantly we are a football club and we are trying to develop our kids the best we can. So to get somebody the calibre of Steve involved is a huge coup - no doubt.

"The O&M is a high standard of football and we are fortunate to have some high-profile recruits on our list.

"Now with Steve at the helm it will be interesting to see where we can get to.

"Steve has a wealth of recent experience at two of the best organisations in the business in Geelong and Sydney who just played off in a grand final."

Johnson was born and raised in Wangaratta and made his senior debut with the Magpies in 2000 as a 16-year-old.

He also played for the Murray Bushrangers before being selected by Geelong with pick 24 in the 2001 national draft.

The mercurial forward played 253 matches for the Cats and is a triple premiership player.

Johnson played a further 40 matches for GWS Giants in the twilight of his career before retiring at the end of 2017.

After retiring, Johnson spent three years initially as an assistant coach at Sydney Swans under coach John Longmire.

The 2007 Norm Smith medallist crossed to the Giants this year as an assistant coach before departing last month and paving the way for him to join Yarrawonga.

Johnson couldn't be contacted for comment on Friday and is holidaying with his wife and young family in New Zealand.

However, Ramsdale said Johnson's decision to join the Pigeons was both a football and lifestyle choice.

"Being a Wangaratta boy, Steve has spent a bit of time in Yarrawonga and enjoys his water sports and golf and holidayed there as a kid and loves the town," he said.

"It's no secret that the town sells itself and is a popular destination.

"Steve has been in the AFL fishbowl for more than two decades and has got a young family he is looking to raise in a country lifestyle.

"But Steve is a competitive beast and once he gets back from holidays wants to meet the playing group and start mapping out what the pre-season will look like."

Ramsdale also paid tribute to Whiley who approached the club about stepping down mid-season if they could find a suitable non-playing coach.

"For the position the club is in and playing off in a grand final, Mark has to take a lot of credit for that," he said.

"But he is that heavily vested in the club but to be able to say he is happy to step down as coach when being so close to a flag - it's a credit.

"So we started hunting for a new coach and got a feel for the market.

"Luckily we got onto Steve about a month ago and things progressed fairly quickly and here we are."

The Border Mail believes Yarrawonga also interviewed former North Albury coach Luke Norman for the coaching position.

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