Australian Michael Maguire was today appointed as Wigan's new head coach in succession to former Great Britain boss Brian Noble.

Maguire, 35, will step down from his current role as assistant coach with NRL champions Melbourne Storm to take up a three-year contract with the Warriors.

Shaun Wane, a former Wigan and Great Britain prop forward, will move up from senior academy coach at the DW Stadium to become Maguire's assistant.

Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan said: "Michael is one of the most highly related young coaches in the game who has learned under a master coach at Melbourne in Craig Bellamy."

Wigan needed special dispensation from the Rugby Football League to employ Maguire, who was not at today's press conference at the DW Stadium but will join the club next month.

Maguire is Wigan's 11th new coach in 11 years and their eighth overseas appointment in the last 20 years.

After giving opportunities in recent years to local men Mike Gregory and Denis Betts, Wigan have gone abroad once more in a bid to bring back their glory days of the late Eighties and early Nineties under overseas coaches Graham Lowe and John Monie when they won the Challenge Cup eight years in a row.

Maguire's career as a utility player with Canberra and Adelaide was cut short by a neck injury but, after a brief stint as a physical education teacher in Canberra, he embarked on a blossoming career in coaching.

He coached junior sides in Canberra before serving as an assistant to Matthew Elliott and in 2005 was taken to Melbourne by Craig Bellamy.

Maguire served as the Storm backs coach, with former Melbourne captain Stephen Kearney looking after the forwards, but took overall charge of the team when Bellamy was away on State of Origin duty.

He will be the second youngest head coach in Super League behind 34-year-old Hull KR boss Justin Morgan.