COLLINGWOOD'S team around Nathan Buckley is taking shape with retired Western Bulldogs midfielder Matthew Boyd joining the club as a development coach.

The Magpies are in the process of interviewing for line coaches and appear likely to hire two more to replace departed assistant Scott Burns, who moved to Hawthorn last month.

The club has been in discussions with coaches still involved in finals action, potentially delaying further appointments to Buckley's panel.

The club confirmed Boyd's appointment as part of its academy program, with football manager Geoff Walsh saying the 292-game Bulldog brought "a number of desired characteristics" to the role.



"Matthew built his reputation as one of the competition’s elite players through hard work, resilience and great leadership. These are all qualities we want to impart on our younger players coming through," Walsh said on the club's website.



"To have fought his way onto a rookie list and end up with close to 300 AFL games and a premiership shows a huge appetite for continued personal growth and development and we think those attributes will really strengthen our academy program."

Boyd, who retired at the end of the 2017 season, was one of the Bulldogs' premiership heroes in 2016 and was named All Australian for the third time last year.

A three-time club champion, he captained the Bulldogs from 2011-13.

The 35-year-old will work with fellow academy coaches Tarkyn Lockyer and Brad Gotch and as a line coach for the Collingwood VFL team, which will again be led by Jared Rivers.



Collingwood said Boyd's appointment was the "first of many" to the club's 2018 football program.

Robert Harvey and Brenton Sanderson have been retained as assistants to Buckley.

The Magpies are looking for a new high-performance manager after parting with Bill Davoren last month following an extensive club review.