Finn, a two-time South Warrnambool premiership player with almost 200 games to his name, will coach the Power for the next two seasons.

He replaces Ben Kenna, who stepped down from the helm after leading the club to three premierships from four grand finals in six seasons.

Finn, 33, said Kolora-Noorat had come across as a “sensational club” in the short period he had dealt with it.

“I know a few people who have gone out there and they’ve never wanted to leave,” he said.

“I’d ask what’s the big key to Kolora-Noorat and it’s their community spirit and the way they go about everything.  Everyone helps out.

“Especially the Thursday night teas. I was up there to check out the rooms and there were over 200 there and they only had two teams still in finals.”

Finn takes on the Power coaching job with a decorated Hampden league resume to his name.

He played junior football at South Warrnambool before heading to Geelong Falcons for a season in 1998.

Finn has spent all but two seasons with the Roosters since, winning premierships in 2006 and 2011.

With regards to coaching, he was an assistant under John Northey at Ballarat in 2007 and guided South Warrnambool with Stephen Kelson in 2008-09.

Finn spent this season in a development role with the Roosters’ defenders. He has also worked with North Ballarat Rebels.

“I’m pretty clear in the way we’re going to play but in terms of a mantra, there will be a couple of key themes,” he said.

“It’s basically about how you want to be treated as a player. Communication and relationships are really important, also having that fun element.”

Finn, a Warrnambool College teacher, said he was not planning to pull on the boots. He is still recovering from knee surgery and “I want to be able to run first”.

Finn believed the Power’s list would remain largely intact, leaving the side well-positioned to improve on its sixth-placed result in 2014.

“They played nearly 40 players in the seniors this year, so there is a base,” he said.

“It’s something they haven’t done for a few years because they’ve been so successful. A lot of the recruiting will come from within.”

Kolora-Noorat president Trevor Beasley said securing Finn as coach was a coup for the club.

“When we first met him, the work that he’s prepared to do and has done with junior development was the number one thing we liked about him,” Beasley said.

“With the list we’ve got, it’s fairly young. We’ve got a lot of juniors coming through who have won under 14 premierships in the past.

“We wanted to develop these kids as best we could. With Danny’s experience in the past working with the Rebels, it’s something we want to go forward with.

“And he came across as a pretty good bloke. We haven’t heard a bad word about him. 

“That’s nearly number one — making sure you get a good bloke as coach.”

afawkes@fairfaxmedia.com.au