Collingwood veteran Chris Mayne has revealed he will return to Perth after announcing his retirement from the AFL at season’s end.

The 32-year-old said “the time is right, personally and professionally” for him, bringing an end to a 14-year AFL career at the Pies and the Fremantle Dockers..

“From a family perspective, Britt and I have two young children and we want them to settle and share more time with our families in Perth,” he said in a club statement.

“From a football perspective, I don’t feel that I can squeeze much more out of myself.

“I still love the game and want to continue trying to get a kick at some level next year but at the highest level I recognise it’s getting tougher, not easier.”

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Mayne, who was out-of-contract at the end of 2021, has played 245 games to date, 172 at Fremantle and 73 at Collingwood, after being drafted to the Dockers with pick 40 in the 2017 national draft.

The Perth Demons product has made his coaching aspirations clear in recent years and says he would “definitely” return to his former club if an assistant coaching position became available.

“My aspirations to be a senior coach are pretty high and I’ve been doing a lot of stuff off-field over the last five years,” he told Triple M’s Rush Hour.

“(I’m) definitely looking to step into coaching and whether that’s at the end of this year or a year to come, we’ll wait and see.”

While Mayne left the Dockers long before the arrival of coach Justin Longmuir, the pair spent time together at Collingwood when the latter was an assistant there under Nathan Buckley.

“(I was) given the opportunity to live my dream, I’m a life member (at the Dockers),” he said.

“I’ve always got a soft spot in my heart for the Fremantle Football Club.”

Mayne didn’t deny Fremantle had approached him for an assistant coaching role at the time.

“Being back in Perth and keen to play some form of footy that is something that is up to Fremantle. They would have to speak to their manager. I’m open to a lot of options whether that is coaching or WAFL but the key thing is getting home,” he told SEN.