The Two Blues have promoted Lawder to senior coach for the upcoming season after the 36-year-old originally signed with the club as a player.

Lawder has an extensive coaching background, most recently leading Queanbeyan's reserve grade team for three seasons.

Assistant coach Andrew Sidebottom will take charge at training during the week, and run the bench on game day.

Lawder is excited to take the reins at Barellan.

"The itch is definitely still there to coach," Lawder said.

"I feel like I'm more of a life coach, a relationship coach. I'm excited.

"We've hit the ground running. We've got a lot of things happening already, which is good. Having Sidey (Sidebottom) there, I've spoken to Sidey three or four times in the last week. We're all on the same page, we're moving along and progressing well already so I'm really happy. The initial phase, it's only been a week really. It's all busy busy, it all seems to be happening and I'm looking forward to getting out there and meeting everyone.

"I'm 36 now and I've been coaching since I was 21. Last year was the first year I didn't have a coaching role in 15 years."

Lawder is a 200-game veteran at Tuggeranong, where he was the club's senior assistant coach in 2016. He then returned to Queanbeyan, as reserve grade coach, where he won an AFL Canberra first division premiership in 2014.

He is no stranger to the Riverina, having spent two seasons at Narrandera in 2013 and 2015.

Lawder originally signed on for the cancelled 2020 Farrer League season but will now head to his new club as coach.

"I'm excited, it's a new challenge. It should be good," he said.

"I stepped down (at Queanbeyan) last year, I'd been in the role for four or five years and learning from some really experienced people there. Even going back to the Tuggernong years...there's a lot of guys there that you're picking pieces that you want to learn from certain people. "

Barellan president Jeff Mickan conceded a Canberra-based coach was not the club's first option, but is happy to appoint such an experienced leader.

"On face value, it's probably not ideal, you wouldn't have your coach travelling from Canberra with the other guys we've got but we'll have our assistant coach, Andrew Sidebottom, he'll take training and they will converse with each other and formulate a plan," Mickan explained.

"The idea is growing on me. In one regard, having a few Canberra players, they will have that face-to-face coaching rather than being on their own, so hopefully that helps that way. Then we'll have Andrew and plenty of people in Barellan that can help out.

"He's quite experienced. The geographics isn't perfect but he's a quality person, so we're really happy."

Barellan boast plenty of experience on their list with former coaches Sean Browning and Will Overs still at the club.

Lawder will join gun midfielder Sean Ellis and Matt Wells travelling from Canberra, with the club hopeful of his appointment resulting in more player signings in coming weeks.

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