FORMER Sydney coach Scott Gowans insists there's no bitterness between himself and the Swans following his departure last November.

Gowans said he was running on three-quarters of a tank during his last season, with the distance between himself and his family weighing on him at times.

The Swans' inaugural AFLW coach, Gowans parted ways with the club after narrowly missing out on finals at the end of last season.

“I loved my time at Sydney and I loved the people there,” Gowans said.

“I'm definitely not bitter one bit at all, but I feel as though just with my family situation, the time was probably right for me, but I didn't see it.”

Gowans, whose six children live in Melbourne, recently became a grandfather for the first time and found living away from his family challenging.

The ex-Swans and North Melbourne coach also had a health scare during his time up north when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023.

“To do a job like that in any club, you have to be a hundred percent - you've got to be fresh, you've got to be a hundred percent in, and you've got to be mentally ready to take on the challenge," Gowans said.

“Now that I look back, I actually think I was probably running on three-quarters of a tank.

“Obviously at the time, you don't want to move out of a great job, but looking back, it was a hundred percent the right time to do it.

“I think it'll be good for the club and I think it'll be good for me.”

In a huge coup for the AFL’s Talent Pathway, Gowans has recently been appointed the head coach of the Eastern Ranges Under-18 Girls program.

The AFL has also confirmed that Gowans will lead Victoria Metro in the upcoming Marsh AFL National Championships - U18 Girls, held between June 13 and July 11.

Despite a number of head coach positions available at other AFLW clubs, Gowans felt the time was right to return to development.

“I did apply for one (of the AFLW roles) and then there were two senior assistant roles, but I just didn't go for them,” Gowans said.

“My manager told me about the Eastern role and I just thought, you know what, I actually feel I should go and have the chat, and see whether I go back into development.

“Once I met with Danny Ryan (Eastern Ranges talent lead), I just felt this was right for me.”

It's been a decade since Gowans was last involved in the Talent League.

Gowans was the inaugural coach of the girls’ program at the Dandenong Stingrays.

Since stepping back into the environment, Gowans believes the skills and the talent of the players has come forward in leaps and bounds.

“I think in those years at Stingrays, there were definitely the talented kids, but the bulk of the squad were kids probably trying out for football the first time,” Gowans said.

“So you'd have kids in your squad that had played zero games of footy, whereas now at Eastern, I think all the kids have all played footy and at least have some of the basics.

“They're quite a talented squad, and I think just watching the games and watching a bit of vision of other matches, you can see that the talent level and the footy IQ is just so much better now, which is a great thing.”

Asked whether he’d return to coaching at the highest level, Gowans refused to rule it out.

“I think I'm always open to what's next and opportunities, but I can definitely tell that this role at Eastern is what I need,” Gowans said.

“And yeah, to have a reset, a refresh and get back to loving developing talent is really good."