How he ended up at Morwell is typical of country footy - Phil Wischmann, a uni mate from Gippsland, helped Singh with the presentation he'd prepared as part of his application for the Seymour Football Club coaching job, then convinced him to go for the Tigers role instead.

"Phil said Morwell was after a coach, and the next night the club officials came to my house and seemed pretty keen," Singh said.

"I knew probably six or seven of their players through Phil, which really helped. Within a week it was all done."

Appointed on a two-year deal in September, Singh was a keen onlooker at Morwell's elimination final loss to Traralgon last year.

He arrived at Morwell after two years at Castlemaine in the Bendigo Football League, where he had been a playing assistant coach in the seniors and coached the under-18s.

The midfielder has also played VFL footy with the Bendigo Bombers and Collingwood - as recently as one game this pre-season.

"I'm a bit of a footy nut, so I knew a bit about the Gippsland league and the committee has filled me in a bit more on what's been happening the past couple of seasons," Singh said.

"It was good to inherit a group that was already pretty good - they were a long way from being the bottom of the pack."

Along with their new coach, the Tigers have also secured the services of Collingwood duo Anthony Rocca and Tarkyn Lockyer, who will each play a handful of games plus finals.

Rocca, 35, played 242 AFL games, including 22 for Sydney early in his career; while Lockyer, 33, amassed 227 games.

Both work at Collingwood as development coaches.

Singh warned that Rocca, who will line up for Morwell in the second half of the season, would be "hard to stop" after averaging five goals a game at West Preston-Lakeside in the Northern Football League last year.

"He'll still probably be the premier forward in the Gippsland league, when he plays," he said.

Former Gippsland Power forward Dean Macdonald has returned to Morwell after two years on Richmond's list.

Singh also hopes to secure former Tigers Lachlan Dowling and Matt Hammond before Morwell's Round 1 encounter with Wonthaggi Power next month.

He said the Tigers would be "throwing everything at it" in a bid to climb the ladder this season.

"It's a really great, social club and obviously they've wanted to win in the past, but whether they'd put absolutely everything into it, I'm not sure.

"I'm not saying we're going to come out and win it this year or anything like that, but we're going to give ourselves the best chance."

Armed with information from Collingwood coaches, sports scientists and marketing experts (he helps out at the Magpies training at least once a week) Singh has brought a new level of professionalism to Morwell.

The club is running an AFL superstars footy clinic next week, featuring Rocca and Lockyer, based on Collingwood's popular holiday programs at its Westpac Centre training base.

The clinic is the first step in Singh's plan to reinvigorate the Tigers' off-field fortunes, as well as controlling what happens on the ground.

"I'm taking the whole approach at Morwell - I'm not just coaching the seniors and going home," he said

• For details on Morwell's AFL superstars clinic, visit www.morwellfnc.vcfl.com.au