Former Cat Tom Lonergan has joined Carlton as a Development and Talent Manager, set to play a key role in the skill-development program at Ikon Park.

Lonergan played 209 games for Geelong across his career, including the Cats' premiership win in 2011, before retiring in 2017.

The 38-year-old previously worked as Talent Operations Lead at the Geelong Falcons, now heading to Carlton in a newly defined coaching role, working closely alongside the list management and recruiting teams.

Brad Lloyd, head of football at the Blues, said Lonergan had the perfect skillset to join the club.

โ€œWe've done a lot of work over the off-season to analyse how we can take our football department to another level and this role was one we identified as a way to do that,โ€ Lloyd said.

โ€œTom fits the skillset perfectly, with his attention to detail, passion for developing talent and significant experience, both as a player in the modern game and through the development pathways.

โ€œHe was known as a selfless player and is certainly a resilient and hard-working person, a great example for our emerging players to work alongside every day as they shape their own careers and look to get the very best out of themselves.

โ€œWith Tom's appointment, we now have an additional coach on last season, which will really boost our development program under Luke Power and increase the efficiencies of the coaching group overall.

โ€œTom's role in working with our List Management team will also be crucial, ensuring we are tracking each player's development and adding another dimension to identifying our potential list needs year-on-year.โ€