Kade Rixon has been appointed coach of the squad to face the Suns at Cobram on January 22.

The former Melrose mentor said there has been plenty of interest from across the league and was impressed with the first training session at Melrose Park last week.

"I heard from 30-odd blokes since we posted about it and booked in three training sessions," Rixon said.

"I don't necessarily want the best 20 blokes, I want to take a fair bit of youth and expose them to the next level.

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"I was impressed with a couple of the younger blokes like (St Pats captain) Ben White and (Boomers defender) Josh Perry."

Rixon stepped down as Melrose coach at the end of the 2019 season, but hasn't lost his passion for it.

"I definitely didn't step away from coaching because I didn't enjoy it, but being an amateur comp, the most challenging thing was getting the young blokes there each week," he said.

"My biggest concern coaching this group was the response I was going to get, but with the 30-odd blokes I have committed, I'm glad I'm going to do it."

The All Stars will train the next two Wednesdays at Melrose Park.