Ladson, who played in a premiership with the Mean Machine in 2016, returns to the club as senior coach, replacing 2021 co-coaches Dale Cameron and Jayden Donaldson.

"I always wanted to get back out to Bridgewater at some point and coach the club,'' Ladson said.

"The couple of years I had there as a player were really enjoyable. It's a fantastic club and the people are great.

"The opportunity came up to lead the club next year and it was good timing in terms of where I am with my coaching.

"I'm looking forward to getting back out there and having the family tag along."

Read more: Rick Ladson's time at the top in the AFL

Ladson coached Golden Square to a BFNL premiership in 2013 and most recently coached Golden Square's women's side to premiership glory in the CVFLW.

He joins a Bridgewater team that had a 10-2 record in 2021.

"If you can retain most of your list and add some extra depth then you'll put yourself in a good position,'' Ladson said.

"Mitiamo and Marong are clearly the yardsticks of the competition at the moment and Pyramid Hill are always recruiting heavily to be competitive, so we have a little bit of work to do.

"There's some great talent at the club and, if we can retain that talent and put some work into the younger players coming through, we'll give ourselves the best opportunity."

Ladson said Cameron and Donaldson had indicated they were keen to stay with Bridgewater in 2022.

"Dale and Jayden are keen to stick around in a behind the scenes capacity.

"They didn't have the time to commit to coaching because of personal circumstances.

"Jayden is going to get his body right, so he can play a role for us next year.

"It's great that they've put their hand up to help next year, not only for the club, but for me as a new coach coming in."

It's been a big week for the Ladson family, with Rick's wife, Carly, winning the CVFLW best and fairest award.

"Carly had a great year,'' Rick said.

"I did tell her that she'd win the medal, but she didn't have the same confidence.

"You have to remember she hasn't even played 30 games of footy in her life.

"Hats off to her - she's done such a good job."

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