New Crows Assistant Coach James Podsiadly says he’s ready to make the quick transition from the playing field to the coaches box.

Podsiadly announced his retirement as a player in September, ending one of the AFL’s fairytale careers.

He played 104 games, kicked 195 goals and won a premiership with Geelong after making his debut as a 28-year-old in 2010. He also compiled a decorated state league career which included over 150 VFL games, three best and fairests and a JJ Liston Trophy as the competition’s most valuable player.

The popular veteran capped off his playing days by being named the inaugural winner of the Phil Walsh Best Team Man Award in recognition of his outstanding leadership and team-first attitude.

It was announced on Monday that the 34-year-old would remain at West Lakes as the Club’s new defensive coach for Season 2016, just over a month after he had hung up the boots for the final time.

Already a great mentor and role model to many of the current squad, Podsiadly said his close connection with the playing group would help his evolution from player to coach.

“I’ve got a good relationship with most of the players, so I’m pretty comfortable with the role as a coach,” he said.

“I think when it comes to coaching, I’ve learned a lot off the coaches I’ve had and most of them are really good at ‘people management’ and that’s something I want to try and focus on.

“But we’ve got a job to do at the end of the day, and that’s to teach these guys how to play elite footy.

“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into that.”

A dangerous key forward, Podsiadly also spent some time in defence during his career at both AFL and state league level.

He said he was eager to pass on his experience to Adelaide’s emerging young backline.

“I’ve got a pretty sound knowledge of how a forward wants to play on a defender,” he said.

“I want to try my very best to impart that knowledge onto our defenders. We’ve got a pretty experienced defensive group now. We’ve had guys who have been here for five, six, seven years that have played together.

“It’s just about giving them some other tools into their toolkit that they can use on game day.

“But I think the Club and the team is on the right course to sustained success, and that’s what really excited me about the role.”

Podsiadly’s appointment finalised Adelaide’s coaching structure for next season under new Senior Coach Don Pyke, who the former Cat said had already impressed many behind the scenes since joining the Club in October.

“He’s very knowledgeable,” Podsiadly said.

“I can see already that he’s going to be a fantastic manager of people. His business experience - you can definitely see that (shine through) with the way that he’s organising our meetings and the whole structure in general.

“His football knowledge is as good as I’ve seen too so I’m looking forward to learning off him and then working with him.”