Tim Kennedy set for first senior coaching role after replacing Tyson Smith at Tallangatta

Kennedy has worked under outgoing mentor Tyson Smith for the past two years after taking Wodonga's thirds to the preliminary final in 2019 and coaching the Bulldogs' reserves a season earlier.

It will be the first time Kennedy has coached at senior level, but he's excited for the challenge.

"I was assistant with Zac Fulford at Wodonga as well before I came here, but this is my first actual senior job," he said.

"It makes a difference being able to know the group really well and my next priority is being able to retain everyone in this playing group.

"If we can keep everyone, we don't need to recruit too heavily. Obviously we'll still target a few, but if we can keep the nucleus of our top 25 players, we're confident we can play finals and push for a premiership again.

"Tyson has done a great job over the last couple of years and to be there with him and see all the good work he does is only going to help me moving forward.

"I think there's the extra layers coaches have to do with the COVID stuff and that's weighed pretty heavily on him, but I hope he gets another run at it with the finals."

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After six years as an assistant in his 13 seasons at Tallangatta, Smith said he has relished the past three years as senior coach, but knew the time was right to step back.

"It's obviously been quite challenging the last two years with COVID and the stop-start nature of this year in particular," Smith said.

"My fiance and I had our first little boy in June and after that happened the priorities changed a bit and I thought it was time to step back.

"Having Tim as assistant and ready to go, he'll do an exceptional job going forward.

"It made the decision a lot easier knowing the club was in such good hands.

"When I took on the job, I really wanted to make sure we had a smooth transition between coaches because over the time I've been at the club, we haven't had that before."

But he hopes he hasn't coached his final game with the Hoppers qualified for a second finals series under Smith.

"You want to hand the club over in a better position than when you got it," he said.

"When I took it on in 2019 in that pre-season, there was a lot of uncertainty around a lot of players, but to get the club to finals in both years we've played is something I'm really proud of."

Smith will stay on in a playing capacity in 2022.

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