The Wickers join a growing coach hunt in the Central Highlands Football League, with Len Watson standing down after two seasons at the Wickers’ helm.

Creswick president Peter Considine said it was a combination of factors that led to the mutual parting, but the Wickers were happy and appreciative of all the work Watson had done with a young playing group.

“Everyone makes some mark on their time at a footy club and Lenny has made a very positive mark on our club,” Considine said. “We’d probably like to get a playing coach if we can because that’s where we’re at as a club ... we need a strong on-field leader. We’ll work through the process and see where we get and who’s available.”

Considine said the average age of the playing group was about 22 to 23 years old.

Watson, a 300-plus gamer for Castlemaine, was excited to take on a young playing group when he arrived in Creswick.

He took the club to finals last season. The Wickers finished 11th this year and ended the season by thrashing Newlyn by 108 points on Saturday.

Watson lives in Castlemaine and has started a new job in Bendigo. He said the work and travel had started to take its toll.

“I would have loved to have given another 12 months because I can see things are moving in the right direction,” Watson said.

“I had to ask myself if I had the energy to do it all again, all the recruiting and training and the answer to myself was no.”

He replaced Damian Lubeek as Wickers’ coach for the 2013 season after two seasons coaching Castlemaine.

The CHFL finals series starts this week.