Ryan O’Keefe wants to maximise the potential of Adelaide’s next generation of young talent in his new role as Adelaide’s SANFL coach.

The two-time Sydney premiership player was announced as the Club’s new State League coach on Wednesday, taking the reins from Heath Younie who steered the side through its first three seasons.

O’Keefe built an outstanding football CV during his 286-game playing career. In addition to the 2005 and 2012 flags, the hard-nosed midfielder won a Norm Smith Medal, a Bob Skilton Medal as Sydney’s best and fairest and was also named All Australian in 2006.

The left-footer wasn’t necessarily blessed with natural skill or flair as a player, but was almost unrivalled for sheer work rate, courage and attack on the ball.

O’Keefe said he’d tap into his own experiences as a player to help shape his coaching style.

“My job is to develop and get the best out of our players, that’s my prime goal,” he said.

“I feel I’ve grown that ability to pass on knowledge and give the players a vehicle where they can learn and adapt.

“To be given the opportunity to be head coach of our SANFL team is really exciting.”

Adelaide played finals for the first time at SANFL level last season. The Crows progressed through to a Preliminary Final against eventual premiers Sturt before being knocked out of the major round.

The Club’s AFL team was also eliminated from the finals race on the same weekend against Sydney at the SCG.

“We had a pretty good season last year, but it wasn’t the pinnacle that everyone’s trying to achieve,” O’Keefe said.

“We want to develop the players we’ve got on our list to make sure that they step up and keep putting pressure on (at AFL level). We’re hoping the guys we’ve got on our list will all make improvements.”

Adelaide’s 1-4 year players return for pre-season training on Monday, November 21. Several young Crows in this group, including Harrison Wigg, Harry Dear, Dean Gore and Tom Doedee, enjoyed strong 2016 SANFL seasons.

“They’ve just got to keep building on the foundations that they’ve set,” O’Keefe said.

“They need to come back, develop physically and get strong enough to compete with men and the power and speed of the AFL game.

“When they get back next week hopefully they’re in really good shape and they can build a really good platform to launch into next season.”

The 2017 SANFL premiership fixture is expected to be released in early December.

Adelaide's SANFL development squad will begin training on December 6.