Tom McDonagh, Brodie Riccardi and Riley O’Shea are back, while former coaches Brad Murray and Leigh Corcoran will be assistant coaches to first-year mentor Jake Sharp.

“Yeah definitely (there’s a buzz), I feel with Jake coming on board everyone’s excited to see the next three years,” O’Shea said.

“With the locals coming back, it shows the respect everyone has for Jake.”

Junior product Sharp is back after five years with VFL outfit Werribee, where he spent the past three seasons in the leadership group.

A centreman, the 23-year-old is the youngest coach in Myrtleford’s 68-year history.

And while the club naturally won’t place too much pressure on him, given it’s only had 12 wins in the past two years, Sharp’s arrival has everyone jumping.

“The club’s heading in the right direction, it’s definitely exciting,” O’Shea said.

“I love the club, it’s got a really good family feel.”

The one-hundred and ninety centimetre O’Shea had seven years at Myrtleford before joining Parkside in the Western Region.

“He’ll slot into our forward line, not a similar player to (former co-coach Tim) Looby, but he’ll be of a similar position, probably deep forward,” Sharp said.

McDonagh will also return after a year at North Cairns.

“He’ll be a really good player for us, he’s an excellent tap ruckman and it allows us to free up Matty Dussin and manipulate our talls,” Sharp said.

Riccardi will play as a small forward as the Saints look to implement that frenetic pressure.

“With the way the game’s played these days and the pace of it, in order to kick goals, you’ve got to defend really well out of your forward half,” Sharp said.

Sharp is also delighted to have the experience of Murray and Corcoran.

“It’s huge, I’ve got really good relationships with both of them,” he said.