AFL premiership-winning cult hero Matt Spangher is returning to Hawthorn after walking out on the Western Bulldogs on the eve of pre-season.

Spangher is reuniting with 2014 flag teammate Sam Mitchell at Dingley as Head of Football Strategy and Projects.

A Bulldogs forwards coach since 2022, Spangher informed Dogs hierarchy only late last week.

It means the club’s first-to-fourth year players return to pre-season today without a forward line coach.

The late move from Spangher has left the Bulldogs scrambling to find a replacement with obvious targets already locked in at opposition clubs.

The forwards coach position at the Bulldogs looms as one of the most pivotal next season with the emergence of young superstar Sam Darcy playing alongside Aaron Naughton and the returning Cody Weig

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