Andy Collins plans to make plenty of phone calls in his first week on the job as West Adelaide coach.

But none will be more valuable than the "chat" he intends having with retired Crows' skipper Mark Ricciuto.

A product of the Bloods' rich Riverland country zone, Ricciuto can expect his mobile to ring in the near future as Collins seeks to tap into a priceless resource.

"I haven't spoken to Mark, but I remember a young Mark Ricciuto," Collins, who played against Ricciuto during his 212-game career with Hawthorn, said.

"I've seen him play and turn into a terrific man and a strong leader. I'm looking forward to not only catching up with Mark while I'm over here but there's a lot of people I would like to talk footy with.

"Mark, being a legend of this club, hopefully he can give me some time to chat about footy."

Whether Collins decides to offer the "Roo" a role with the Bloods remains to be seen but he will at least gain some handy guidance.

"I'm not that familiar with South Australian football (or) South Australian players so I've got to get up to speed and I'm going to have to rely on some really good people to help me," Collins, 42, said.

Loyal Westies fans can expect to see their men displaying much of the same dash from defence Collins produced in his 10-year career with the Hawks.

"I would expect our team to go hard at the football when it's their turn to go hard individually," Collins, who has signed a three-year deal to work full-time, said.

Having turned around the fortunes of his past three VFL clubs - Sandringham, Box Hill and Coburg - sooner than expected, Collins is optimistic the same can be done at Broadspectrum Oval.

Describing this task as his "coaching Everest" Collins said he is in it for the long haul.

"I'm quite happy to break some records if the president wants me around," he said in relation to West's high coaching turnover.

"It's an exciting challenge, it makes me nervous but I think that's a good feeling to have."

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