RETIRED Brisbane premiership player Nigel Lappin will join the Geelong coaching panel after turning down new Lions coach Michael Voss' call to play on next season.

Lappin, 32, will join assistants Ken Hinkley, Brendan McCartney and Brenton Sanderson under coach Mark Thompson, who is entering his 10th season with the Cats.

Lappin, a triple premiership midfielder, said he had "great respect" for the way Geelong had built its team over recent years and looked forward to the next stage of his career.

He played 279 games in a 15-year career, which ended with just four games this season due to ongoing Achilles problems.

Former coach Leigh Matthews paid tribute to Lappin upon his retirement, saying he was "even better than his reputation" and understood the game better than most players.

"Nigel's potentially got a lot to offer," he said.

Leigh Tudor will continue as coach of Geelong's VFL team.

■Richmond has appointed Ross Monaghan as its football manager to replace Paul Armstrong, who left this week to join Danny Frawley at the AFL Coaches' Association.

The Tigers also last night delisted a further two players — Danny Meyer and Travis Casserly — ahead of the draft.

With DAN SILKSTONE