Bourke was announced as Maroochydore Australian Football Club's coach of its Team of the Half Decade (1970-2020) on Sunday. He led the Roos from 1994 to 1998, landing three premierships from 1994-96 as well as a preliminary final berth. He was also named Queensland's Coach of the Year in 1995.

"I did a hard apprenticeship in my coaching days in Warrnambool," Bourke said. "I had to work pretty hard at coaching and it all sort of came together when I came to Queensland. I was probably more experienced then and the results came."

The 65-year-old, who works in real estate in Buderim, said he was "pretty stoked" to learn he had been awarded the honour of coach of the Roos' best team.

"Because the club has had a lot of good coaches," he said. "I was probably fortunate I was in the right place at the right time."

Bourke is also in the mix to be named coach of AFL Sunshine Coast's inaugural Team of the Half Century (1970-2019), to be announced on Friday.

"I've been nominated along with four others," he said. "There is always good coaches and I'm honoured someone's nominated me."

Starting his coaching journey in Warrnambool, Bourke said he quickly found a love for the craft.

"When I was playing, I was working night shifts at The Standard when I was 17, 18," he said. "We got home about 4am and had to wake up and play footy. I was just a player, not a brilliant player, just a half back flanker. I was talking to my uncle one day who said, 'you want to have a go at coaching, it's actually better than playing'. That once you start, you get it in your system."

Starting out as Warrnambool's under 18 coach, Bourke went on to lead Port Fairy's under 18s to a grand final appearance before shifting to South Rovers.

A five-year stint at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (later Deakin University) followed before Paul Stafford lured Bourke to Koroit as an assistant coach where he helped its reserves qualify for a grand final.

Looking for a change of scenery, Bourke, then 38, and his wife Judy moved north where he had his first taste of the ultimate success at Maroochydore before signing with Mayne Australian Football Club for two seasons.

A later move to Western Australia took Bourke to the Broome Saints and the 2010 West Kimberley Football Association premiership, two years after he and the team fell agonisingly short in the 2008 grand final.

Asked how he went about coaching, Bourke said preparation was key.

"The boys would laugh in Warrnambool that I always had witches cones everywhere," he said. "I always planned my training that it was game orientated and I've always been told I'm a great motivator. I was pretty hard but fair and I always got on well with players."

He said coaching was largely about player management.

"When you coach a footy side you've got 30 guys that are all different and you've got to work with them," he said. "Like it is in the AFL nowadays, it's not just coaching, it's more player management and I found out pretty quick that you've got to be good at that."

Bourke said he wasn't involved in football since retiring from coaching - though could be tempted back into the sport.

"My little granddaughter Georgia came home from school on Monday and said she wants to do Auskick. She's five, so I might get involved in Auskick," he laughed.

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