He recently informed Swans officials that after almost five years at the helm that the time was right for a fresh voice.

A life member of the club, Brookes will be striving to go out on the ultimate high with the Swans in second place with a 11-2 record and alongside Kiewa-Sandy Creek, flag favourites.

Brookes said he felt privileged to have been able to coach his home club.

"I initially said I would coach for 12-months and here I am almost five years later," Brookes said.

"But I love the club and love being involved but that's enough of my voice and it's time to move on.

"I'm proud to be stepping down with the club in a strong position and the new coach will be walking into a nice little gig hopefully."

Brookes was initially appointed co-coach alongside Ricky Whitehead in 2018, replacing Brent Newton.

He was then appointed sole coach of the Swans at the end of 2019 after Whitehead relocated to Western Australia.

Brookes has led the Swans from the finals wilderness to the brink of winning their first flag in the Tallangatta league since joining the competition in 2003.

Increasing family commitments were the major reason behind Brookes' decision.

"I've got a kid now that plays senior football and my younger son and daughter who are also showing some promising signs," he said.

"When you have the commitment of coaching, you have to sacrifice family time.

"But now the kids are getting older, I want to support them and put my spare time and effort into my kids.

"My family has been very supportive of me as a coach and have had to put up with my mood swings when we get beat and rode a lot of the bumps with me along the way.

"So I'm looking forward to giving something back to them."

The Swans contested finals in 2019 for the first time since 2015 before the following two finals series' were lost to COVID.

Chiltern is the only side to beat ladder leaders Kiewa-Sandy Creek this season with the pair set to clash again in a fortnight.

Brookes said he was proud to have the Swans in premiership contention but was fully aware he will ultimately be judged on what the club can achieve during September.

"I'm proud of where the club is because we weren't in a great spot five years ago," he said.

"I feel fortunate that the committee took a punt on a local bloke which a lot of clubs are hesitant to do.

"All the locals bought into what I was trying to achieve like I hoped they would.

"We are in a strong position at the moment but we still have nothing to show for it because of COVID the past two years.

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"To the boys' credit they still turn up to pre-season each year ready to go and have kept their chin up.

"We have been able to add to the group each year and while we are not guaranteed anything in finals, we are in as good a spot as anyone.

"I still get a buzz after a win and watching the boys belt out the song - it's one of the things that I love most about coaching.

"I'll miss that for sure."

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