RETIRED TIGER GRIGG ACCEPTS CATS GIG

GEELONG has made its first key signing of the offseason, snaring recently retired Richmond premiership player Shaun Grigg as a development coach.

The Cats announced Grigg’s appointment yesterday, with the finer details of his role to be finalised.

It caps off a whirlwind few days for Grigg, who was wearing yellow and black at Richmond’s best-and-fairest awards on Tuesday night.

Now his attention is firmly on developing the Cats’ next wave of stars.

“Having a quick look and playing against them, (Geelong) has a lot of good young talent,” Grigg said yesterday.

“Hopefully I can teach them a little bit and fasttrack their development to bridge that gap so they can come up and play good senior footy.

“Obviously I have experienced a lot with some good young players at Richmond and helped those guys play good VFL footy and then step up and play that same footy at AFL.”

Grigg, who called an end to his 214-game AFL career in May due to a chronic knee injury, recently moved to Geelong, with the Cats acting swiftly to bring him to Kardinia Park.

The 31-year-old said the prospect of staying in football as a coach was exciting.

“It all happened pretty quickly, to be honest,” he said. “I’ve been living down here about a month with my young family.

“I met (Geelong football manager) Simon Lloyd a couple of weeks ago and just had a chat about footy.

“Then I got another phone call to meet (senior coach) Chris Scott and a couple of the other coaches, and they sort of thought there could be a role in developing some of the younger players.

“With the success Richmond has had in the past few years, and being a part of that, hopefully I can bring something different.”

Grigg said his time on the sidelines injured had allowed him to learn more about the off-field side of the game.

“This year, I did a lot with the assistant coaches at Richmond,” he said.

“(Tigers coach) Damien Hardwick and (general manager of football) Neil Balme were unbelievable in giving me that opportunity and helping me develop my skills in coaching and even footy admin as well.

“Once I got a bit of a taste for it, it was something I wanted to pursue. I have been lucky enough to get this opportunity.”

News of Grigg’s recent arrival in Geelong had sparked speculation he would play football at a local level in 2020, with Newtown & Chilwell seen as the frontrunner for his signature.

But the coaching role means it is unlikely Grigg will play anywhere next season.

“I’m fully invested in the Cats’ program, and I want to see the young guys develop,” he said.

“I’ve had my turn, and, unfortunately, the body gave up. I’m more than happy to sit on the sidelines now and coach.”