Former Adelaide forward Tom Lynch has confirmed he’s working with North Melbourne on a deal to become a development coach at the club in 2022.
The 31-year-old was told earlier in the season that he would not be offered a contract for next year, allowing him time to work out his next move.
He has settled on North Melbourne, with his new role still to be confirmed but to be based in coaching “with an aspect of playing”, despite an offer to remain at the Crows in a coaching capacity.
“That’s where I’d like to be,” Lynch told AFL Trade Radio’s The Early Trade.
“I think it will be mainly focusing more on my coaching, with an aspect of playing but certainly more around my coaching and my ability to help in their development space.
“(Adelaide) did offer for me to stay and that was also another exciting opportunity ... but I think it was just time to step away from somewhere I was so familiar with and sink my teeth into a new challenge.”
“I’m really passionate about my coaching.”
Lynch played 158 games for the Crows, connecting the forward line and midfield in his time at the club after joining from St Kilda.
He played 12 times in 2021 and finished the season strongly to record 74 disposals in his last three games of the year, but harbours no bad blood with his former club.
“I wasn’t expecting that my playing time at Adelaide was going to come to an end but that’s the way it goes,” he said.
Matthew Lloyd predicts North Melbourne will be the big winners of Lynch’s appointment, saying he will be “unbelievable” for the club.
The Essendon great coaches the football team at Haileybury and saw what the former Crow can do first-hand.
“They are getting a wonderful person,” Lloyd said.
“He called me up one day and said, ‘I’m in Melbourne and I need a training session, can I come and train with Haileybury?’
“It was one of the best sessions of all-time because Tom trained with us, and the way he got around the 16, 17, 18-year-old footballers, I walked away going, ‘How good a bloke is Tom Lynch’.
“Just his instruction as well, ‘You picked the wrong option there, you fell off your kick there’.
“To have him playing for North’s VFL is going to be unbelievable.
“I know he would want to be playing North AFL, it sounds like he’s bracing himself it’s going to be a VFL playing position.
“He’s going to be a great pickup for them.”
North Melbourne had a strong finish to the season in 2021 to suggest they may be able to climb the AFL ladder next year.