EXPERIENCED football coach Troy Maiden will return to Maher Oval after eight years away and lead Turvey Park next season.

Turvey Park unveiled Maiden as its new senior coach for next season on Wednesday with the Bulldogs positive he is the man to take the club forward.

Maiden played 142 first grade games for Turvey Park and is a premiership player at the club but returns after time in a variety of different coaching roles.

He spent last season as Bryce Campbell's senior assistant coach at Ovens and Murray League club Corowa-Rutherglen, and was the Riverina Football League (RFL) representative coach from 2010 to 2013.

Maiden made the switch from Turvey Park to arch-rival Wagga Tigers in 2007 as an assistant coach to Matt Walder in the club's premiership year.

He then was senior coach of Tigers for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Maiden spent 13 years at Maher Oval and is looking forward to his return to Turvey Park.

"Yeah, look I am, it's a good opportunity," Maiden said.

"I'm actually excited by the challenge.

"It was one of the toughest decisions I've made during my time in footy.

"I really enjoyed what I was doing at Corowa, I really enjoyed working with Bryce, it's a fantastic level of footy every week but in the end my family had a lot to do with the decision."

After making the RFL grand final in 2010, Turvey Park finished the next three years as wooden spooners.

The Bulldogs made serious inroads this season, under Chris Cerato, and climbed the ladder to finish in seventh spot, just three games away from a finals spot.

Turvey Park president Vin Carroll believes Maiden is the man to take the club to the next level.

"We think he's the one to take us forward," Carroll said.

"We're glad to have him back.

"He's got a wealth of experience behind him, he's had a crack as RFL coach, and a crack at Corowa, so we think he'll be good for us."

Carroll said finals was certainly the goal for 2015.

"That's what you play footy for," Carroll said.

"We know our kids have been punched from pillar to post over the last couple of years and we've got to get some good experienced players around them.

"We've got to get a good environment there and when you're winning, it's a hell of a lot easier."

Both parties will assess after the 2015 season but Maiden is expected to be in the job for a minimum of two years.

Maiden, a non-playing coach, plans to get a good support crew around him at the Bulldogs next season.

Back at the Bulldogs

Troy Maiden

Coaching history

2002: Final year of playing career at Turvey Park

2004: Turvey Park under 16 coach

2005-06: Turvey Park under 18 coach

2007: Wagga Tigers assistant coach

2008-09: Wagga Tigers senior coach

2010-13: RFL representative coach

2014: Corowa-Rutherglen senior assistant coach

2015: Turvey Park senior coach