Parr, a three-time premiership player with the Tigers, won the Azzi Medal and Des Kennedy Memorial Medal in 2017 and has racked up more than 200 appearances in the yellow and black.

But knee troubles have kept him sidelined all too often in recent years and Parr's focus, which had already shifted more towards mentoring others, is now firmly on delivering the club more success at second-grade level.

"It's something different," Parr said.

"My playing career's sort of over so coaching is the next step.

"For a person with my experience to come through and have a chance to coach second grade, I can implement what Joel (Mackie), the senior coach, is doing with first grade so we're all on the same page.

"Being reserve grade, you've got vastly different groups of footballers.

"You've got your kids coming up from juniors, you've got your 40-plus guys that still love the game and the social life and then you've got your in-betweeners who are pretty happy just going about ticking the box in second grade.

"It'll be good to incorporate something there to get them all together, so they're all on the same page, all striving for the one thing."

Few of Parr's coaching compatriots across the Hume League will be able to rival his resume as a player.

"To have a guy with his football brain and experience, hugely respected not only within our club but right across the league and the community, in charge of what is a very young reserve grade side, we're really excited," Tigers president Jason Webster said.

"He's got a lot out of football and to see him put a bit back into Osborne is just a good story.

"I think it'll be immense for those young players.

"He coached our juniors when we played in the Wagga comp and they won a premiership under him.

"He's a guy that everyone looks up to and respects.

"A couple of the boys were thinking about not playing this year but as soon as they found out 'Parry' was coaching, they were straight back involved."

Parr has never looked back since joining the club from Coolamon nearly 15 years ago.

"This place means a lot to me," he said.

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"I first came out in 2009, not knowing anything about it but every year, it's grown on me and my family. It's a second home, you could say.

"Everyone associates the town Osborne with the football club because it's all that's there and that's what makes it unique.

"It doesn't matter who you are or where you've come from, everyone's welcome.

"There's a lot of respect out there for the guys (who played) many moons ago, the pops and nans getting around, the mums and dads now getting around.

"On a Saturday night after football, you can go into the change rooms and you'll see a 17-year-old sitting there talking to guys that are in their 60s and 70s.

"You've got at least a dozen guys on a Thursday night training, cooking you a meal and serving you beers; it's their way of life outside of farming and it's their little getaway."

Parr ruptured his ACL last March and may have played his last game for the club but isn't completely ruling out a comeback.

"I'll keep the door open," Parr said.

"At what capacity? It's a day-by-day thing.

"It's down to my knee.

"The recovery's good and I haven't opted for the operation.

"I've won three flags, I was lucky enough to captain one of them and I was lucky enough to win a best-on-ground in one of them.

"I've coached the under-17s to three grand finals, won two of them and being able to be a mentor a lot of the juniors that are playing first grade now is the biggest thing for me.

"You play footy to play footy, because that's all you've ever known but as you get older, you start to know what's behind football and how the day works to get you on the field."

Osborne hosts Howlong in round one on April 15.

"You don't often have a league medalist coaching your reserve grade," Webster said.

"They might end up going elsewhere so to stick by his club and put back into the community is just a really good story."

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