THE Casey Scorpions' long and extensive search for a coach has ended with the appointment of former Melbourne coach Greg Hutchison last week.
Former St Kilda champion and dual Narre Warren premiership coach Aussie Jones was also in the running.
Hutchison, 50, played 96 games for the Demons from 1975-84, and had a stint as a caretaker coach in 1997 after the sacking of Neil Balme.
Hutchison also had an assistant role at Richmond under Danny Frawley, and more recently as an assistant to coach Dean Laidley at the Kangaroos.
Hutchison was approached a fortnight ago and says he took the job because of his desire to become a head coach again.
"The opportunity to coach my own team again with the Scorpions was one of the major drawcards; it's a great new challenge."
Hutchison will be working for Vasey and its AFL affiliate club St Kilda and will also play a key role in development of the Saints' younger brigade.
Hutchison has signed a two-year deal with the Saints, but as is Scorpions policy, Casey only offered Greg a one-year contract that will be reviewed at the end of the season.
Casey Football manager Bryan Woodman believed the signing was a great one for the club.
"We are delighted to have Greg at the club. His experience is profound. He coached in the TAC, he has been an AFL assistant at Melbourne, Richmond and the Kangaroos, a football manager and also had a stint of 10games as Melbourne's caretaker coach.
"He brings a new level of expertise that is a lot closer to the coalface of the AFL."
Walking into his new club just a fortnight after losing former captain Nigel Carmody and `best and fairest' winner Steve Harrison didn't diminish Hutchison's enthusiasm for the job.
"Both Steve Harrison and Nigel Carmody were great servants for the club, but you can't dwell on them leaving; you have to move forward."
After meeting the team on Wednesday for the first time, Hutchison was yet to set goals or think about recruits for 2008.
"I've just met the playing group, so we will have a good look at the playing list before we can start setting goals.
"The problem many VFL alignment teams have is that they struggle at key position posts. We still haven't had a real close look at our list, but that is definitely one of the things I will focus on improving."
After seeing Casey Fields from the outside as a spectator, Hutchison was impressed with the facilities.
After losing Nigel Carmody, Steve Harrison and Troy Makepeace in the off-season, the Scorpions are still to recruit any big names for the coming season after missing out on the likes of Patrick Bowden, Matthew Robbins and recent Saints retiree Brett Voss, who has decided on playing amateur football. The lack of big names has not changed the club's outlook on the coming season.
"We will be looking to consolidate on the improvements we made last season and maintain our position in the top eight." said Woodman.
Preseason training for the Scorpions starts on Monday.
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