Highfield, who has won best and fairest awards at North Wagga and Queanbeyan in the past, agreed to join the Goannas last month but has now decided to remain with the Tigers.

MCUE viewed Highfield, who was also set to be an assistant coach, as the ideal player to add size and class to their inside midfielder stocks, but are now on the hunt for a replacement.

Seymour, who has taken over the presidency from Jesse Cunningham after his two year tenure, said the positive is they're aware Highfield won't be part of their set up early.

"It's disappointing from a club's point of view. To secure a player of that calibre, we were very happy with our recruitment to date but Lachie had a change of heart. We respect that and wish him all the best," Seymour said.

"We have no ill feelings with Lachie. He's made the decision after talking with family and connections. We're probably glad he made the decision now rather than in February, which could have thrown things into turmoil.

"We were ready to put our recruitment book on the shelf, but that's thrown a little spanner in the works and we'll reassess things.

"But we're still in a very good position where we stand at the moment."

IN OTHER NEWS

Goannas coach Jeremy Rowe is on the hunt for another option and the club also identified recruiting another tall as a priority after the departures of centre-half forward George Kendall and ruckman Sam De Sousa.

"Jeremy is on the case and my faith in him is we probably couldn't have a better person spearheading our recruitment strategy," Seymour said.

"Someone with Rowey's football brain and his networks, having coached in Canberra and other areas, he has the ability to put out feelers and find the right fits."

The Goannas are looking for their first flag since 1993 and had a golden chance to end the drought this year before finals were abandoned.

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