Steele led the club's return to finals this year with a brilliant season in the middle, and will get to have even more of an influence next year when he shares the coaching duties with Hillier.

"It'll be really good. I'm looking forward to it. There's a good bunch of blokes there and plenty of young talent. I reckon if we keep the same group together and add a few more, I reckon we'll give it a real good shake, hopefully," Steele said.

"The club's been really good to me and the talent they've got there is pretty impressive. The way they've come from the bottom of the ladder to make finals this year I reckon is a really big achievement and hopefully we can keep moving forward and pushing for that next step."

The 26-year-old had two years as an assistant coach at Holbrook before joining Coleambally. His resume includes four straight premierships at Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong (2008-2011) as a teenager at the start of his career.

He still values the influence of those coaches, including the man he succeeds, Mitch Carroll.

"Daniel Rankin and Christen McPherson at Ganmain, I had them for a couple of years. And Mitch Carroll coached me in a premiership there at Ganmain as well. There's a lot of coaches I've learnt a lot of things off but they're the three that come to mind," Steele said.

Hillier will be heading into his second year in the role, and is rapt in Steele coming in to replace Carroll.

"It's going to be really exciting. I'm looking forward to it," Hillier said.

"He's obviously had a really good first season at the club, he's great for our young blokes and it'll be great to work with him.

"He leads from the front on the field, he takes the game by the scruff of the neck, and he's got plenty of voice so I think as a coach he'll be really good."

Coleambally made it a priority to finalise the coaching structure by early September in order to prepare for next year.

"We wanted to get it all sorted early so we can look forward, recruiting-wise, and keep in touch with the blokes we've already got and hopefully keep them all on board," Steele said.

"I think like everyone we probably need a few key positions but that's what everyone's looking for and I think that's why they're so hard to find. But it's hard to put a finger on it at the moment, we'll work out who's sticking around and who's leaving first."

Matt Hard (East Wagga-Kooringal), Shane Lenon (Marrar), Jake Wooden (Temora), Pat Noonan (CSU) and Hillier are the coaches confirmed to return next year.

The Rock-Yerong Creek have appointed Brad Aiken as Tom Yates' successor.

North Wagga are searching for a replacement for Kirk Hamblin.

Barellan and the Northern Jets are yet to confirm their plans for 2020 although Mitch Haddrill is committed to staying on at the Jets as a player at the least.

READ MORE