Lenny Hayes, then assistant coach of Greater Western Sydney, looks on during a clash between the Giants and Western Bulldogs in the NAB Challenge on February 25, 2016. Picture: AFL Photos

ST KILDA great Lenny Hayes is set to return to the club he played 297 games for as an assistant coach ahead of the 2023 season. 

The 42-year-old has been living on a farm with his family in New South Wales since departing Greater Western Sydney at the end of 2020. 

Hayes joined Leon Cameron's coaching department at the Giants at the end of 2015 and became a popular figure inside the club across his five seasons back in Sydney, working closely with the midfield.

With St Kilda assistant coach Ben McGlynn deciding to return to Mildura with his family at the end of this season, a vacancy has opened in Brett Ratten's coaching team in Moorabbin. 

Greater Western Sydney midfield coach Lenny Hayes during a pre-season training camp on December 15, 2019. Picture: AFL Photos

AFL.com.au understands Hayes has been offered a role and is preparing to relocate back to Melbourne in what will be a major coup for the club's coaching staff. 

The Saints have been exploring the possibility of bringing Hayes back to clubland after two seasons away from the game, meeting with the St Kilda great in Sydney in recent months. 

LADDER PREDICTOR Where will your club finish?

It is understood that Greater Western Sydney has previously explored options for Hayes to return to the club in a coaching capacity through the Giants' academy, as well as more recently when interim coach Mark McVeigh was looking for reinforcements when he replaced Cameron three months ago.

With Brendon Lade coaching the forwards and Corey Enright overseeing the defence this year, Hayes is expected to replace McGlynn and look after the midfielders. 

Brett Ratten (right) chats to Corey Enright during St Kilda training on November 22, 2021. Picture: Getty Images

Hayes won three Trevor Barker Awards and was named All-Australian on three occasions during his decorated career in red, white and black, and is a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame. 

He was one of the best midfielders in the game at the peak of his powers, finishing third in the 2009 Brownlow Medal, eighth in 2010 and 10th in 2012.

The former captain played with Seb Ross and against Brad Crouch in his final game against Adelaide in 2014 and will now work closely with the pair, along with captain Jack Steele and emerging star Jade Gresham. 

Ratten signed a two-year contract extension in July, keeping him at RSEA Park until at least the end of 2024.