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From The Age

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Former Collingwood AFL captain and assistant coach Gavin Brown has been appointed as the inaugural coach of the Magpies' stand-alone VFL side.

Collingwood cut its ties with VFL affiliate Williamstown at the end of the 2007 season, believing their player development would be better served by running their own reserves team.

"It's a great opportunity for me, personally, but it's also fantastic for the club to be able to fast-track our players and develop them the way we want to do it," Brown told collingwoodfc.com.au.

"I think it's going to be a fairly significant change for the club, there's no doubt about that. We had a terrific alignment with Williamstown, and it was possibly the best in the competition.

"But still, at the end of the day, there were issues as Williamstown is obviously there to win footy, and we want to win games of footy too, but at the same time, sometimes you feel it's more important to actually develop the player."

After four years as an assistant to Mick Malthouse, Brown said his first major appointment would confirm whether he wanted to pursue a head coaching position.

"You can think you want to do it, but the proof is in the pudding, really," he said.

"I think this will tell me if I want to do it, and I think I want to do it and most people do, but then it will also show me if I'm capable of doing it.

"It's one thing to do it, and it's another thing to be able to do it and do it well."

Williamstown have announced a new partnership with the Western Bulldogs, who had previously been aligned with Werribee.