The Bendigo Pioneers Football Club's regional manager since mid-2000, Byrne's final day in charge will be on April 10 when the AFL Victoria under-16 country championships are played at Bendigo's Queen Elizabeth Oval.

"Retirement is something I have thought about the past couple of years," said Byrne just weeks out from the start of his 26th year involved at TAC Cup level.

"It's been an incredible journey in a game I absolutely love.

"I have made some terrific friends, a lot of them being staff at the Pioneers."

Although he finishes officially in early April, Byrne is keen to see some of the plans he has worked on in recent seasons develop.

"At the Pioneers a lot of the focus is on player development, but we have also worked hard on building an infrastructure, firstly at Golden Square and now at Epsom-Huntly."

After a 219-game career in what was then known as the VFL across stints at Carlton, Collingwood and Geelong, Byrne took on a development role with the Queensland AFL.

A year later and he was involved as a development manager in Gippsland.

"Kevin Sheahan (also from Bendigo) played a big part in taking on the role in Gippsland and has given me a lot of help over the years."

After a 10-year stint with Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup, Byrne headed back to where his footy career kicked off as a 12-year-old in Bendigo.

In retirement, Byrne plans to travel and spend more time with his family, especially his five grandchildren.

"I could not have done without the support of Jen, wife of 33 years, and our children, Leigh and Casey and their families."