REIGNING premier Koroit is celebrating the signatures of its three-time premiership coach and a returning star utility as it pursues a seventh-straight premiership.
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Saints mentor Chris McLaren, who is in his second stint as senior coach, has been reappointed while livewire Tim McIntyre has committed after spending 2019 at Barwon Heads.
McLaren said McIntyre's elite training standards meant he was an ideal role model.
"He's a super popular teammate. Tim is a unique man but we love him and the players do too," he said.
Tim is a unique man but we love him and the players do too.
- Chris McLaren
"He moved to Geelong and decided to give it a crack down there but he said it just didn't feel like home and wanted to come back.
"He's a best and fairest, a big-game player and just gives great energy to the group with his training standards.
"For any young players looking to take their game to that next level, jump on Timmy's coattails.
"That's how you become a good player."
McLaren described his decision to sign on as "easy".
"I love coaching and I love our footy club," he told The Standard.
"They're clearly a great team and a great group of people and also, with this season being wiped out, it would have been a pretty big ask to get a new coach to start (in 2021).
"It wouldn't have felt right to finish up (like this). Every coach has a life expectancy and I'm probably getting to the end of that but it wouldn't have been right to finish this way."
McLaren expected strong player retention and hinted at more opportunities for the club's young talent.
"We've been successful but we've still been able to get some games in for young players over the last few years," he said.
"I think a lot of those boys are ready, if not now but next season, to play big roles for us."
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