Knowles joined the Wickers three rounds into the 2016 season and has been a part of the coaching group while also playing in the senior side.  

The BFL interleague player came to Creswick from Central Highlands powerhouse Springbank after failing to take to the field in 2015.

Knowles said it was unlikely he would play again in 2017, and preferred to take on the top job as a dedicated off-field coach.  

“Playing this year (at Creswick) has definitely helped me to recognise there’s a few areas we need to improve on going into next year,” Knowles said.  

“I was a late starter this year but I’ve definitely noticed a lot of improvement from the group throughout the year.”

Sitting in 11^th place with three rounds to go in the home-and-away season, the Wickers remain a mathematical chance of making the eight, however they will have to overcome Hepburn, Gordon and Bungaree in order to do so.  

While Knowles conceded his charges are unlikely to feature in finals this year, he said making the eight would be the target for his first year in charge.

“It’s definitely going to be a tough ask to match it with those top five or six clubs immediately but Creswick’s been almost there for the last few years so finals is definitely the goal.”

Knowles will take over from former North Ballarat Rooster Damian Lubeek, who has been at the helm of Creswick for the past two years.  

Knowles will be assisted by former Redan teammates Adrian King and  Aaron Hepworth.  

Creswick president Mick Alsop said the playing group had responded well to Knowles’ inclusion into the coaching team this year, and believed the club had built a solid foundation for future success.

“Ryan’s got a lot of experience and good on-field leadership and he’s shown a lot of the experience already this year in a coaching capacity,” Alsop said.  

“We’ve got good depth and we’ve slowly built up so the next step is to get a couple of gun players.”