Holmes will return to the Wimmera Football League after an 11-season stint with Birchip-Watchem, two of those spent coaching.

The Eagles' new leader said he was excited about the opportunity.

"I found myself moving back to Horsham, and I was pretty keen to tie myself to somewhere in the local football community, and that ended up being at Warracknabeal," Holmes said. "I've got some strong connections there, and it's ended up well that it's there."

Holmes said the main focus was to build a culture conducive to success.

"The first thing is to have a good, interactive community. We want to make it a family-orientated club that people want to be at and hopefully with that comes some good footy," he said.

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Warrack Eagles president Chris Taylor said the appointment was the right fit for the club.

"We'd been taking our time with the decision on the coaching side of things, purely because we wanted to make the right decision but also because we wanted the right coach who could work with our younger brigade of players," he said.

"One of the things that we're really trying to promote within our club is to be family-orientated and be a place that people want to be at. His personality and his demeanour are exactly what we're after."

Holmes won two premierships with the Horsham Demons in 2005 and 2006, before moving to the North Central Football League, where he was crowned Birchip-Watchem's best and fairest three times.

The new role will see Holmes hang up the boots, however, and guide the Eagles' young brigade from the sideline.

"That (young list) was definitely one of the attractions. As I got older, I've definitely got more eager to pass on what I've learned over the years," he said. "They've got some young kids who are willing and eager to learn, but with that, there's a good mix of some of older, experienced heads.

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"It's an exciting list to work with, and I'm excited to see what the potential will be for the next 12 months."

Taylor said outgoing coach Ryan McKenzie would stay at the club as a player.

"We've been fortunate enough to retain Ryan McKenzie and Nick Peters," he said. "So the reality is why you've still got those two leaders on the ground, we can have a bloke off the ground directing the traffic."

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