ST KILDA great Robert Harvey will join Ross Lyon's coaching department at Moorabbin after informing Hawthorn of his decision to depart.
The two-time Brownlow medallist has spent the past 12 months working under Sam Mitchell at Waverley Park, following a decade at Collingwood and previous assistant coaching roles at the Saints and Carlton.
The Saints have had a vacancy to fill in their coaching department following the departure of Brendon Lade to the Western Bulldogs last month.
With Lenny Hayes also returning to the club as a midfield coach, news confirmed two months before Lyon was unveiled as Brett Ratten's replacement on Monday, the return of Harvey will continue a homecoming of famous St Kilda figures ahead of the club's 150th season in 2023.
"On the field I always wanted to get the very best out of myself and be someone my teammates could rely on," Harvey said.
"As a coach, those values have been central to the way I go about things, and I'm excited to help the club I love emerge stronger in 2023.
"I grew up at St Kilda, so to now have the opportunity to help others do the same and hopefully play a role in bringing success to the League's best fans, I cannot wait to get started."
Harvey played the final two seasons of his 383-game career under Lyon and returned to work in St Kilda's coaching panel for the final two seasons of Lyon's first stint in charge, before joining Nathan Buckley at Collingwood for the 2012 season.
The 51-year-old, who won four Trevor Barker Awards and All-Australian selection on eight occasions, has regularly been linked with a return to Moorabbin whenever a coaching change has happened at the success-starved club.
Much like Lyon and Hayes, Harvey returns to a training and administration base that couldn't look any different to the one he spent most of his playing days at, following a $30 million redevelopment that transformed a decrepit building into a state-of-the-art base that now also includes the Danny Frawley Centre.
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The appointment of Harvey continues a busy period of change at St Kilda with veteran administrator Geoff Walsh joining the club as executive general manager of football.
Harvey, Walsh, Hayes and Lyon will all officially commence their new roles on November 1 ahead of the start of pre-season later next month.
