Walder was appointed as head coach of the Rats at the conclusion of the 2019 season. In his first official season in charge the Rats finished seventh with five wins from 12 matches.

After more than a three decade-long career playing senior football Walder thought his "expiry date has come as a player", allowing him to give his full attention to coaching.

"At the end of the day, the time comes for everyone and now's the time for me," Walder said.

"I think my expiry date has come as a player, I will certainly miss playing.

"I can concentrate totally and devote all of my energies to coaching now."

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Walder said his desire to coach is as strong as ever and was looking forward to seeing the game from a different point of view next season.

"You have to be motivated to do it, it is in me, is a part of me and what I enjoy to do and I will keep doing it," he said.

"It will be different, there are benefits from looking from afar. I will certainly be able to observe and react on things a little differently.

"Purely from a gameday coaching perspective that will be the biggest change, through the week it probably won't change as much, I will still be involved and still out there."

Walder said he didn't always want to become a coach, however his passion for the game and desire to go the extra mile to improve as a footballer led to securing his first coaching position at the young age of 22.

"When you first play it is always about playing, the coaching aspect just evolves over time if you enjoy the game that much and you want to go that extra step," he said.

"I started early as an assistant coach at the age of 22 and did that for four years and then I first coached Mervine in 1998 and have been able to hold down a coaching role at various clubs until now."

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Walder described the relationships he has made and being able to help players improve and develop as on and off the field as his favourite parts of coaching.

"Building relationships is massive, watching young players improve and develop and experiencing team success," he said.

"The biggest enjoyment for me is having a plan and seeing it come together and just the passion for the game, I just love the game of footy."

Walder said playing alongside his eldest son at Mervine in the Sunraysia Football League was just as special to him as playing representative football and winning two premierships.

"I had five years at Warrack, in the early 2000's, obviously the 2002 flag was a highlight as captain coach, also in the 2007 premiership at Wagga Tigers and obviously the amount of friends and acquaintances, mates and friendships you build over the years," he said.

"I coached my eldest son at Mervine in the Sunraysia Football League. I was able to play senior football with him, which was as special moment as your premierships and your first game and any other representative matches."

He said watching his players succeed and experiencing team success was more important to him than any personal accolades he has won.

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"I was fortunate enough to coach and captain the Wimmera league, captain the Sunraysia League, fortunate enough to play for NSW Country as a vice-captain," he said.

"Those moments you cherish, but they don't supersede or override the premierships or team successes that you have along the way as a coach."

Walder said the young Rats side exceeded his expectations in 2021 and doesn't think a finals appearance is beyond reach for next season.

"With our young group we made huge inroads, credit to them because their improvement came faster than what we all envisioned," he said.

"With a bit of more fortune with the draw and COVID-19 I know we would have come away with more wins and possibly closed in on a finals campaign.

"I think realistically we can put that goal out there (finals) and go from there, anyone who goes into a season thinking they are not going to challenge before round one, I'm not sure why you are in the game.

"You at least have to give yourself a chance."

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