Somerville grew up on the family farm overlooking Crossroads Oval and is honoured to be appointed coach of a club that means the world to him.

The 37-year-old will step up as a non-playing coach after helping out Luke Gestier on the bench this season.

"I'm just rapt to be coaching the Collingullie Footy Club," Somerville said.

"Mum and Dad's house looks over the footy ground and I grew up at the footy club. I played juniors here, my dad, his dad all played footy here.

"I'm looking forward to it, getting to have an influence on the whole footy club and the netball club, to assist and help them and learn from their success.

"I've got so much respect for the club and committee. It's such a family club and I really want to make sure I do it right, get everyone involved and drive it forward."

Somerville has an extensive background in football.

He spent nine years in Sydney where he worked for the AFL in game development, as well as with the Giants and Swans academies.

Somerville was a senior assistant at Randwick Saints, while he oversaw the football program and coached the first 18 at Riverview College for five years.

A premiership player at Collingullie in 1999 and 2003, Somerville returned to the Demons when he moved back to Wagga in 2013.

He coached the club's under 17 team in 2015 and then returned to run the first grade bench this season.

Somerville's goal is to get the Demons back to finals, after they missed out this season for the first time in 19 years.

"The goal will be to play finals footy," he said.

"Anywhere short of that and I probably shouldn't be doing the job. I think the ability's there. The young guys have got some games into them now and a bit of direction will help.

"Then if we can just find a few experienced blokes to top up with, we should be able to get back into the five."

Somerville said a couple of bigger bodies will be on the recruiting wish list, to help support the club's younger brigade.

"We definitely need some bigger bodied mids," he said.

"When you lose guys like Jayden and Matty Klemke, the top two in the best and fairest, it obviously leads a big hole to fill. Out of the premiership year, we lost a few and it was a really tough year.

"We've definitely got a young side. I know we've got some older heads there as well but there might be a bit of turnover. Most weeks we had eight to 10 players under 19 and in their first 30 games of senior footy so it was a big learning curve for them."

Collingullie-Glenfield Park president Tony Dean was pleased to see a club junior appointed as senior coach.

"Brett's a local product. He has the respect of all our playing group, not just our senior group but all the way down to our under 17s," Dean said.

"I'm rapt with what our recruiting committee have done and am really looking forward to the next couple of years."

Dean said while it was disappointing to have the seniors miss finals this year, the club was proud of the fact that seven of their eight teams will be in action during September.

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