FORMER St Kilda captain Nathan Burke has been appointed as the new Western Bulldogs AFLW senior coach. 

The 323-gamer has signed a two-year deal at Whitten Oval, replacing premiership coach Paul Groves. 

Burke most recently coached Vic Metro at the 2019 NAB AFLW Under-18 Championships in Queensland, while also having worked with St Kilda's coach Peta Searle as an assistant coach in the VFLW. 

Burke, 49, previously worked as an assistant with St Kilda's AFL team in 2004 and 2005.

"I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to coach the Western Bulldogs AFLW team for the next two seasons," Burke said.

"The Bulldog faithful loves their AFLW team and we will continue to do the red, white and blue proud."

Bulldogs general manager of women's football Debbie Lee said the club was delighted to have a coach of Burke's calibre.

"There was significant interest in the position and a strong field of male and female applicants, and after undergoing an extensive process, we believe Nathan is the right person to lead our group moving forward," she said.

"We look forward to Nathan building on the strong foundation we have laid to date, and further developing and improving our players as we strive for sustained team success in the AFLW competition."

The Bulldogs finished the 2019 NAB AFL Women's season with five consecutive losses, to finish on the bottom of Conference A.

As a player, Burke captained the Saints for five seasons, was a four-time All Australian, three-time club best and fairest and represented both Victoria and Australia.