The 46yearold replaces Michael Frost at the helm of the Warriors, who finished third this year.

Originally from Broadford, Ezard made his debut for the Bombers in 1983 and went on to carve out an impressive career playing mostly as back pocket or rover, and was noted for his strong marking ability.

He retired in 1993 on 184 games and 200 goals.

He represented Victoria on a number of occasions as a player, winning the EJ Whitten Medal as best on ground for the state during the 1991 clash with South Australia, the same year he won his club's best and fairest.

Ezard was Essendon's leading goalkicker in 1988 and played in four grand finals, including back-to-back flags in 1984 and 1985.

He coached St Albans for six years, which included a premiership and finals in every season, and was last year in charge of Noble Park in the Eastern Football League, while he has also had stints with Coburg and North Ballarat in the VFL.

Ezard said he was looking forward to taking the Warriors to the next level.

"We've got an exciting list," he said.

"Our seconds and under-18s were both grand finalists, and we've got a great nucleus of young talent."

However, Ezard said despite the side finish in 2009, there was still room for improvement.

"The backline is strong and our midfield is in the top two in the league, but our forward line could get better and I'll be looking at making it more creative," he said. "We were a fair way behind Port Colts and Spotswood in our fitness, so we've got a pretty torrid three months of preseason ahead of us.

"We've probably underachieved over the last eight years, because we've always been up there in the top three or so. We'll have 12 under-18s

coming through next year, so I'll be giving them a chance, while the improvement from our reserves will put more pressure on the seniors, and hopefully allow the club to be strong across the board."