Ryan Waight will coach on at Bungaree.

He wants to build on the foundation he has laid, which going into the last home and away round has the Demons just one win away from playing finals.

Like any coach who was appointed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Waight has had an interrupted time at Bungaree.

With the 2020 season completely wiped out and 2021 abandoned after a shortened home and away series, this has been his first complete campaign.

Waight said meeting the demands of coaching on top the commitments associated with having a young family and work was getting harder, and this had been reflected in other coaching calls in the Ballarat region over the past few weeks.

He said after weighing up everything, he was excited to be coaching again.

"We've improved a bit, but there is a still a gap between us and the best, and I want to be around to try to close that gap over the next 12 months."

Waight said Bungaree had a young, improving group, but had to work out how it could match it with the best.

He said this year had been his first opportunity to get a true sense of the make-up and character of his player list.

"You know who you have, but you don't get a full understanding of strengths and weaknesses until they've been out on the field and you need a full season to do that.

"I now have a better grasp of how we can be better and what sort of players we need to bring in to achieve that.

"It's a tough competition. You have to get everything right all the way through to give yourself a chance."

He said developing more potency up forward would be a priority for improvement.

"There's no hiding from the fact we haven't kicked enough goals this year. We've defended well at times, so a bit more power up front would be ideal."

Bungaree goes into Saturday's last home and away round with a slim chance of playing finals.

It needs to upset Skipton, and have Waubra and Rokewood-Corindhap lose to finish eighth.