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KYNETON doesn't have a preference for either non-playing or playing, but is keen for its 2020 coach to be experienced.
With Luke Beattie having officially announced that this will be his last season at the helm, the Tigers will have a new senior coach in the BFNL next year.
The club's search is being headed by vice-president Rob Waters and under-18 coach Nathan Thompson and is well under way given the Tigers have known for some time that 2019 was going to be Beattie's last in charge.
"Beatts has given us heaps of notice; he's got four young kids, so it's time for him to go and enjoy his family," Waters said on Wednesday.
"We've been out speaking to people and we're happy to spread the net far and wide and so far the response has been encouraging.
"We're open-minded in regards to playing or non-playing, but I'd think we want an experienced coach.
"But the main thing is it's someone who is the right fit in terms of supporting our club ideals, which most coaches are these days."
Beattie has coached Kyneton since round 15 of the 2015 season after the Tigers parted ways with Mark Adamson.
Beattie led the Tigers into four finals in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and has stuck with the club through the financial issues Kyneton made public in August last year when it announced a debt of about $200,000.
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Asked what challenge the club's financial position had posed in its coach hunt, Waters said there was no shirking of the issue.
"You've just got to be honest and tell your story. The people we've spoken to have appreciated our candour," Waters said.
"The fact is the club has been open and honest with everyone, in some ways to its own detriment during the finals last year.
"But it had to be done from a club point of view and I think that gains you some respect.
"Our finances are certainly heading in the right direction; the committee has done a great job this year."
With six rounds remaining the Tigers sit seventh with a 4-8 record in what was always going to be a year where they took a tumble given the exodus of players during the off-season.
"We've got a very good core of players and we've found some great kids; Benny Xiriha is a 17-year-old who is a great prospect and has been in our best half-a-dozen or so times already," Waters said.
"Ethan Turner is another promising player and we've been rolling a few through from the under-18s, so that's really pleasing. We're very confident with our juniors and expect to find four-to-five senior players regularly over the next few years."
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