Respected WA coach Tony Micale will return to the AFL as an assistant at St Kilda.

The Saints confirmed on Wednesday that Micale will work alongside midfield coach Dean Laidley and also be manager of their player academy.

“This is a key appointment for the Saints,” coach Scott Watter said in a statement.

“Adding someone with Tony’s knowledge and experience to the coaching panel next season provides great balance to our assistant coaching team.”

Micale was a senior assistant at West Coast in their 2006 premiership season and was named the AFL’s assistant coach of the year the following season.

He coached East Fremantle to the 1998 WAFL premiership and then was in charge at East Perth when they won three-straight flags from 2000-02.

Most recently, he has returned to East Perth and they made the finals again this season.

It is understood St Kilda tried to lure Micale east a year ago, but he stayed in Perth for personal reasons.

Last month, the Saints lured respected fitness coach Bill Davoren from the Western Bulldogs to be their high performance manager.