After serving in a number of off-field capacities at Kardinia Park since 2009, Rahilly moved to South Australia at the end of the 2020 season in an effort to expand his coaching experience.
But his thoughts of the Cats never left him. He claimed to have observed “a lot of Geelong games to see how they were tracking,” but he is returning as a more well-rounded coach to the team for which he played 90 games between 1998 and 2005.
Since Geelong is constantly trying to improve, he said to geelongcats.com.au, “I learned a lot from going to Adelaide, which was a complete rebuild, and looking after some very young players, who definitely improved in those three years.”
“I definitely learned a lot working with the youngest group in the competition after spending so much time working with a more experienced group, and hopefully I can instill that here.”
Rahilly noted that going back to the location where he had spent a large portion of his adult life after three years away felt a little like coming home.
I’m thrilled to come returning after a few years, to see some familiar faces mixed in with some fresh ones, to begin working with some new staff members, and to establish a genuine connection with the players,” he remarked.
“I had some amazing experiences away from here and am looking forward to sharing them now that I’m back, even though it feels a little strange after three years.”
