They will ride every bump and no doubt critique game plans and individual efforts. But, mostly, they will just sit, maybe with a beer or two, and watch football.

Scott Carter and Matthew Irving are excited to enjoy the game at its purest, without the pressure of coaching.

The pair has left indelible marks in the Hampden league after stepping down from coaching posts in September.

Carter is a two-time Blues premiership mentor, while Irving led the Bloods from fifth to a preliminary final in his final year in charge.

Now two new leaders will get the chance to leave their imprints at the proud clubs.

John Cook and Paul Dirago are among four excited leaders who will step up to Hampden senior coaching ranks in 2016.

They come from different backgrounds – Cook is a former Warrnambool reserves premiership coach who has honed his trade at powerhouse Koroit and Dirago is a fresh-faced newcomer who has left the VFL to take up coaching at 23.

Mathew Buck is charged with leading a youthful South Warrnambool and Hamilton Kangaroos have backed experienced mentor Matt Dunn to lead them to their first Hampden league final series.

Of the 10 clubs, five will have non-playing mentors, three have appointed playing coaches and two have put their trust in joint coaching arrangements.

Carter and Irving said there was no hard-and-fast rules for picking a coach – simply get the best person for the job.

But Carter said the competition had advanced tactically which could favour a coach watching from the bench.

“Non-playing coaches are good for clubs with strong on-field leaders and I was fortunate in my time at Warrnambool to have that,” he said.

Carter said a player of Dirago’s calibre – he arrives after a stint at VFL club Northern Blues –  was a coup for the entire competition.

“His credits read well. I think for a young guy like that it is good to lead from the front on the field – that helps earn respect – and then to have some stable heads on the sidelines,” he said.

Pressure is part of the industry and comes both externally and internally.

Carter said it should be embraced.

“From personal experience, expectations were always pretty high at Warrnambool but I knew that when I took the job on,” he said.

“I guess that’s what’s helped make Warrnambool such a strong club for such a long period of time. There are expectations and that’s the way it is.”

Irving started his coaching career at Terang Mortlake in a playing capacity.

His second coming, in 2014-15, was as a non-playing leader.

“My first stint there I was playing and coaching at the same time and it becomes a battle because you’re worrying about your own form and have the others to worry about too,” he said.

“This time around I had the experience of the previous time, I wasn’t playing and I knew the ins and outs of the playing group.

“That’s the number one thing – not just knowing them as footballers, but their family life.”

Irving said both ways of coaching had their advantages and disadvantages. 

“You can see a lot more sitting on the sidelines,” he said.

“But as a playing coach you’ve got more of a feel for the group and are involved in the social side of things.

“Myself, I have a young family and didn’t have as much time to spend with the group as I did in the past.

“The young guy, Paul, can come in and have that benefit.”

Recruitment, training, team meetings and planning are all part of country football coaching in the modern era.

Carter said it was a time-consuming job which required passion and dedication.

“There are a lot of parts I will miss, such as camaraderie with the boys and the excitement of game day,” he said.

“From a personal point of view, the part I found most difficult was between September and March when you have to go recruiting.

“The time you put into coaching these days is more and more.

“It’s not an eight-month of the year job, it is a 12-month job.”

Irving agreed, saying delegation was important to retaining a comfortable work-life balance.

He said Bloods assistant coach Chris Bant was helpful in that regard, often watching opposition games when he was injured.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger year in, year out,” Irving said.

“Like anything, if you put decent support staff in, you are able to share the workload.

“If it falls to one person, it becomes daunting.”