Dan Ryan has been appointed as West Coast Fever's new head coach as the former Leeds Rhinos Netball high-performance director and head coach rejoins Suncorp Super Netball.
The 37-year-old international coach and former Australian men's captain returned to Australia this summer in order to be closer to his family having lived overseas for the past three years.
Last season, he led Leeds Rhinos Netball to the play-offs during their inaugural campaign in the Vitality Netball Superleague. Ryan was instrumental in the recruitment of an outstanding squad and the development of a full-time programme at the franchise.
He previously enjoyed success with Manchester Thunder as both an assistant coach and head coach in the Vitality Netball Superleague and is widely regarded as one of the game's best people managers and innovative thinkers.
Ryan also developed Northern Ireland's elite team as their head coach and he now returns to Suncorp Super Netball, where he was previously head coach of Adelaide Thunderbirds in 2017 and 2018.
"I cannot wait to be part of the West Coast Fever family," Ryan said, as the franchise announced his arrival on Monday.
"A key focus will be honouring the legacy of what's been before and embracing the Fever way. That will be balanced with the aim of identifying some key areas where I can add value and enhance what's currently in place, to ensure we are constantly moving the program and team forward.
"I've grown a lot over the past three and a half years and have gained so much valuable experience overseas, so I feel really well prepared and confident it's the right time and right place for me to thrive and reach my potential.
"I have the utmost respect for Stacey (Marinkovich) and her team and what they've built and achieved in recent years, it's been so impressive.
"The team is in a really healthy position right now and it's a great privilege to be given this opportunity to join such an established and successful high-performance environment.
"The playing list is exceptionally talented and the growth potential within the squad is even more exciting. I truly believe there's a lot of scope for me to add value so I can't wait to start this new journey with the team."
Ryan will officially commence his role on September 13 and will work closely with Fever's departing head coach.
"We are also very lucky to be in the position we are as a club where our outgoing coach Stacey Marinkovich has been engaged through parts of the recruitment process and can continue to contribute," Simone Hansen, West Coast Fever's CEO said.
"Whilst Stacey will move into her full-time role with the Diamonds, both her and Dan will spend the required time together to assist in a thorough handover of the program and give Dan the best insight to the framework of the club."