Martyn was announced as the Lions new senior coach on Monday and will move to the region from Canberra to take on a two-year deal.

The 28-year-old got a taste of what the club is all about this season when he linked with the Lions for the AFL Riverina Championship when the NEAFL was cancelled.

Martyn admits he 'fell in love' with the club and only plans to do a little fine-tuning in a bid to lead GGGM to another premiership.

"We've got a really good foundation. From an outsider's perspective, they're just a hard and tough footy club, very competitive. It can be really hard sometimes to build that or have it engrained but they've got it in spades and I think they're renowned for being a really tough opponent to play so that's a really good foundation to have," Martyn said.

"I think it's more just fine-tuning a few things with the game plan and improving our offence. We started to do it this year, you could see, we started to build on that foundation of toughness and started to move the ball with a bit more purpose and a bit more flair so we'll be looking to build on that."

Martyn is a big believer in building relationships as he enters his first foray into coaching.

"I'm massive on making sure I get around to most guys and want to hear their opinions and make sure they have buy in to the club. Because you can have the game plan and you can have all the measures in the world but if the players don't want to buy into it then there is no point," he said.

"You want to make sure they've got a voice and build the club that they want to have.

"A good culture breeds success and they've already got a really great culture, it's really just fine-turning a few things because I think we've got a really good foundaiton, really good fundamentals, it's just tweaking a few things and hopefully we can take that next step from prelims to grand finals and winning them."

Martyn spent two years at Adelaide under Neil Craig, Mark Bickley and Brenton Sanderson. He had never played the game until he was 16 after being recruited across from his athletics background.

"I tried to keep improving every year and I guess the Crows saw enough improvement to give me a shot," he said.

"I still couldn't read the play much, my skills weren't great but I guess being in that system, and I've noticed it more I guess in my mid 20s, I've had those skills and improved a lot.

"I think I was drafted a bit too early, I would have loved a few more years, just developing, before I got a shot but I still treasure the opportunity and learnt a lot and made me the footy player I was through my state league career."

It led to five years with Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL, a time Martyn loved.

"That was the highlight of my career, playing there," he said.

"Just playing with the calibre of players at that level, and making a grand final too, playing at Adelaide Oval in front of 25,000 was pretty incredible. To lose, sucked, but it was amazing.

"I'll base a lot of my principles and what I do with my coaching from that time in my career. I really, really enjoyed it."

Martyn admits it took him some time to adjust to the AFL Riverina Championship after four seasons with the Canberra Demons.

"To be honest, it took me a fair few games to get back and adjust to that standard of footy," he said.

"I guess playing NEAFL the last few years, it's very open and more AFL like. You play those bigger grounds, those wide expanses and it's pretty bruise-free footy at times, which is always nice being a wingman that likes to use his skill and run.

"But the first few games (this year) I found it really difficult just in terms of the contested side of footy and not having a good pre-season under my belt.

"I was actually questioning my ability at times but I guess it started clicking from round three, I started to find some form, I went back to the wing, which was great, and found a little role there which helped the team, which is good.

"Especially this year with the minimised clubs in the competition, just the standard of footy with all the players, and the calibre of players that came back, was really good. To be honest, I'd love to see a game between AFL Canberra and AFL Riverina this year because it would be a cracking game to watch."

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