Koroit signs Chris McLaren to coach for seventh consecutive Hampden league season

McLaren's commitment for the 2023 Hampden league campaign was announced at Saints' training on Thursday night.

The non-playing mentor has led the Saints to their past three flags and has the team atop the ladder entering the final home-and-away round.

"I love coaching and I love coaching Koroit and the players," McLaren told The Standard.

"It is a fair stint but it is something I still find enjoyable."

McLaren, who is in his second stint coaching the Saints, believes the powerhouse club will undergo change in coming seasons.

"We are in a phase - it could be this year - where we lose a couple of those senior players," he said.

"They are early 30s now and some of those boys have full bellies in terms of what they want to get out of their footy.

"I feel there could be one, two or three of those boys who won't play and this year has probably felt like the first year of a transition into a younger group, so I want to follow that through a little bit and be a part of setting on the next path of success."

McLaren said he had the support of wife Sarah and daughters Molly and Lucy.

Molly - part of Warrnambool Mermaids' Big V championship tilt - and Lucy both play netball for the Saints and coaching commitments mean McLaren often misses their matches.

"You miss out a bit there and you feel a bit guilty," he said.

But he said his children wanted him to keep coaching.

McLaren, who played 300-plus games for the Saints, said it was a time-consuming task but one he relished.

"I feel like you put so much work in and you ask your players and people around the club to put so much work in to try and be a good footy team," he said.

"You see how much work goes into it and how much the players are prepared to do - the extra sessions and the training - to try and be a good team and good players individually, and you feel if they are putting that much work in, you should be putting an equal amount in.

"You feel you should be right there helping them and pushing with them."

Koroit plays Warrnambool at Reid Oval on Saturday afternoon and then has a week off for finishing atop the ladder before a second semi-final contest.

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