WHILE other teams were fighting it out in grand finals last Saturday, North Wangaratta were laying the foundation for their flag bid, locking in a senior coach for 2023.

Steve Manning will lead the Hawks as a non–playing coach, taking over the role from Josh Warren who stepped aside at the end of the season to spend more time with his family.

Manning has several years coaching experience in the Outer East FNL, including coaching the reserves and thirds sides at Gembrook Cockatoos FNC – Manning led the 'Brookers' thirds side to a flag in 2018.

"This is my first senior gig," he said.

"I'm new to town, I've been here since January and spent the year getting my feet on the ground, working, getting the kids settled and all that stuff.

"I guess in the back of my mind, coaching was something I'd do eventually – didn't think it'd come up this quick.

"I knew the coach (Warren) was finishing up, it just sort of festered in my mind – you get to September and you see the footy finals in the area and on TV, and it's just a great time to be involved in footy.

"One of my work colleagues is a player there and we just got chatting, and one thing led to another and here we are."

Manning said the Hawks were a perfect fit for him, and he was looking forward to getting stuck into preparations.

"I think there are a heap of upsides to the North Wangaratta FNC," he said.

"Let's be honest, the ground is magnificent, they're got good people involved in their committee, it's a strong committee, they've got a plan going forward.

"The upside of the club is enormous, and I'm just excited to be given the opportunity."

North Wangaratta FNC president Allan Ely said Manning was the ideal applicant for the position the club and playing list were in.

"We met with Steve and he was great straight away, ticked all the boxes we were looking for," Ely said.

"He has a lot of experience with younger teams and younger players, that's where our senior team is at at the moment.

"He spoke really well and he knows his football.

"I think he's going to be a great fit for us.

"Steve's hit the ground running, he's going to start making contact with all the players on the list from this year – his main focus was to reach out to all the current players and introduce himself to them and get to work."

Neither North Wangaratta football sides made finals this year, with the senior side finishing ninth and the reserves four games off the pace in seventh.