From Oscar Allen’s future to Jeremy McGovern’s retirement, Andrew McQualter faces it all in first year as coach
It’s hard to remember a first-year coach who’s been forced to deal with more distraction, drama and disappointment than Andrew McQualter, who’s trying to lift the Eagles from rock bottom.
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It’s hard to remember a first-year coach who’s been forced to deal with more distraction, drama and disappointment than Andrew McQualter.
Coaching is hard enough at the best of times, let alone at a club that is at rock bottom.
But the way McQualter has handled himself in his first year at the helm of the Eagles has won him the universal respect of the football industry.
And he’s done it his way.
“I couldn’t be more impressed with the way he’s handled and conducted himself,” former teammate and Fox Footy expert Leigh Montagna told this masthead. “I don’t think a first-year coach has ever had to deal with as much on and off the field as Mini has.
“The issues and distractions he’s faced haven’t deterred him. He knows it’s going to be hard work and it’s going to be a long process. I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been for him but he’s kept his cool.
“It’s very much Andrew McQualter – what you see is who he is. He’s confident he’ll get there and I think he will too.”
When McQualter put his hand up to go through West Coast’s process in late 2024, it looked like he’d be part of a group one field.
By the time he interviewed, he was racing maidens.
Dean Cox elected to bide his time at Sydney, a decision that was justified when John Longmire stood down in November. Fellow favourite sons Jaymie Graham and Ashley Hansen opted to remain assistants with their respective clubs.
Josh Carr sensed he was about to be offered a formal succession plan at Port Adelaide. The Eagles’ pursuit of Nathan Buckley lasted one brief phone call. Daniel Giansiracusa also opted out of the process.
It left McQualter, Geelong’s Steven King and Collingwood’s Hayden Skipworth.
McQualter had one hand on the wheel as interim coach of Richmond following Damien Hardwick’s mid-season resignation in 2023 and was ready to steer his own club.
He finished the year with a 7-6 record and was the popular choice to take over permanently before losing out to Adam Yze.
“The fact that he was unanimously wanted by the senior players at Richmond to take that role speaks volumes of him,” triple-premiership Tiger, former McQualter pupil and Fox Footy star Jack Riewoldt told this masthead. “There was a discussion amongst the older guys about who they thought was the best person to take that group forward at that point in time and he was a clear choice.
“For multiple premiership players and captains and champions of the game to choose him is an extreme vote of confidence in his evolution as a senior coach.”
McQualter knew what he was walking into when he was appointed head coach of the Eagles. But he had no idea what was still to come.
“I think taking the job, he knew there was a chance they weren’t at rock bottom yet,” Riewoldt said. “He played with a backs against the wall edge and he clearly coaches with it as well.”
One of McQualter’s first conversations as coach was telling Tom Barrass he’d still be welcome back at West Coast if trade negotiations with Hawthorn fell over. Jack Darling also had his heart set on a move to North Melbourne.
The premiership bookends both departed just weeks into McQualter’s tenure, robbing him of a best and fairest and West Coast’s second all-time leading goalkicker.
Pre-season returned in November and West Coast was hit almost immediately by injuries.
No.1 pick Harley Reid paid the price for not returning in optimal shape. He was sidelined by inflamed scar tissue, a concussion and ankle soreness in the lead-up to round one and struggled for form early in the year.
He got into trouble for flipping the bird at a Brisbane fan in round two and he was more interested in scrapping with the opposition than winning a hard ball. McQualter was forced to briefly move him to half-back and his future continues to be a talking point.
All before Christmas, Tom Cole fractured a finger, Harvey Johnston hurt his elbow, Bailey Williams strained a hamstring, Harry Barnett did a calf and Harry Edwards had bone stress in his foot.
In early January, All-Australian midfielder Elliot Yeo suffered a serious knee and ankle injury in an awkward tackle. West Coast listed Yeo as four to five weeks away leading into round one. As of round 16, he’s still a month away from a return to play after undergoing further surgery.
Just as McQualter had stomached the Yeo blow, premiership hero Dom Sheed tore his ACL in an innocuous training incident, ruling him out for the rest of the season — Sheed made the decision to retire on Tuesday.
Off-field, McQualter was putting out spotfires.
Young defender Reuben Ginbey was charged in early January after urinating in public at a music festival and failing to supply his personal details to police. A few weeks later, forward Liam Ryan was involved in a street fight but was later cleared by the club after an investigation found he and his partner were subject to an earlier attack.
In February, Tim Kelly declared that he had fallen out of love with football. By April, the veteran midfielder was dropped for the first time in his 100-game Eagles career – a significant selection statement from McQualter.
“It wasn’t surprising,” Riewoldt said. “He’s developed a brand and identity that he’s holding the players to.
“The fact he went and got two of the most important standards players at the Tigers in (Jack) Graham and (Liam) Baker, they were critical pieces to what Richmond was on and off-field. He identified them as two players who could help get his message across.
“The one thing I loved about playing under Mini, whether that be as a senior coach or an assistant, is his personability with his players. When he has to make those big decisions, he does so with the greatest amount of care.
“When you’re not going well, he opens the floor up to you and allows you to problem solve yourself. It’s exciting for West Coast that you’ve got a guy who’s come in and feels comfortable making those decisions and pulling the reins.”
It’s not the only difficult selection conversation McQualter has been forced to have this season.
Second-year midfielder Clay Hall was flown to Brisbane at the last minute in round two after Jack Graham was ruled out with a hip injury.
Despite finishing the game with 15 disposals, seven clearances and a goal to be one of West Coast’s best performers in a spirited loss to the reigning premiers, Hall was dropped the following week against Fremantle. Fans were critical of the decision given Hall had not only performed but he was one of the faces of the second-youngest lists in the AFL.
The 20-year-old says the harsh call proved the turning point of his season, culminating in a Rising Star nomination against Collingwood in round 16.
“Mini is just so easy to get along with,” Hall said. “When he talks, people lean in and listen.
“I love the way he approaches things. He’s under a lot of stress as a first year coach of a team that’s not doing as well as we’d like to be. He’s not taking a backwards step at all.
“As much as you’d love to stay in the ones and continue playing AFL footy, getting dropped helped me in a way. It built a lot of resilience and you learn to never take your spot for granted.”
Drama continued to plague the Eagles in the early stages of the season.
In late February, Reid was pictured sitting next to Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell at Tom Barrass’ wedding. A few weeks later, Mitchell returned to Perth, this time to meet with free agent Oscar Allen about his future.
The leaked catch-up sparked outrage amongst Eagles fans. A remorseful and emotional Allen was wheeled out in front of the media to explain himself as new head of football John Worsfold stood menacingly behind him.
Such was the toll on Allen’s mental health that he missed West Coast’s Good Friday clash with Essendon. Come June, the 26-year-old played his last game for the season and in all likelihood, West Coast after injuring his calf and achilles against Carlton.
The Eagles opened their 2025 campaign with an 87-point loss to Gold Coast. By early April, West Coast had lost its first five games by a cumulative margin of 296 points, forcing club leaders to call a crisis meeting.
Rubbing salt into the wound, McQualter was left seething by Mitchell’s decision to send former Eagle Barrass forward in the final quarter of the Eagles’ loss to Hawthorn.
The losses, nine straight of them, continued to pile up until McQualter finally got his first win as West Coast coach against St Kilda in May.
It came in tragic circumstances. Club great Adam Selwood passed away the day before the game, leaving a footy club in reeling. Premiership teammate Adam Hunter died a few months earlier in February.
On-field, we were starting to see signs of McQualter’s identity.
The Eagles lost to Essendon and Richmond by two points within the space of a month.
Against the Tigers, first-year midfielder Tom Gross had the chance to win it late but was run down by Tom Brown. McQualter was beside himself, lunging at the wall of the MCG coaches box in frustration.
“That’s the competitiveness in him,” Montagna, who called West Coast’s clash with Collingwood on Kayo, said. “He could sense a win.
“He’s had more reasons to lose it than some of the other coaches who struggle to keep their cool.”
In late May, All-Australian spearhead Jake Waterman suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. West Coast was already navigating the absence of five-time All-Australian Jeremy McGovern who was sidelined with concussion in round eight against Melbourne.
That hit would spell the end of McGovern’s illustrious 15-year career. West Coast wouldn’t find out until June after he was medically retired by the AFL’s concussion panel.
In Bunbury against North Melbourne in round 13, the Eagles were on track to win their second game of the season, boasting an 18-point lead at the 11-minute mark of the final term.
In the blink of an eye, North Melbourne surged back into the lead with the final four goals of the game.
Post-match, McQualter admitted that he made a mistake subbing first-round draft pick Bo Allan into the game with only eight minutes remaining.
“I think it’s still something I’m learning in my job,” he told Channel 7. “So, we need to support Bo a bit better, particularly being a young player.”
A week later, McQualter did not mince his words when he described West Coast’s first term against Carlton as “pathetic” during a quarter-time interview.
It was a brutally accurate assessment and he didn’t back down post-match, telling reporters: “We can’t accept it anymore. We can’t put up quarters like that.”
“When he spoke, it struck a chord,” Montagna recalled from the pair’s St Kilda days. “He wasn’t afraid to give feedback to senior players and leaders at the club.
“He had the respect of the room and wasn’t afraid to speak up. He was matter-of-fact but never in a demonstrative way. He could cut through.
“That comment didn’t surprise me at all. He started in that Ross Lyon era so that’s how we spoke, with that direct approach.”
That brings us to now.
Welcome to coaching Mini. Are you having fun yet?
“It hasn’t been tough at all,” McQualter quipped sarcastically after Allen’s meeting with Mitchell in March. “I understand this is the nature of the beast.”
They say it’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
So far, in trying circumstances, McQualter has displayed the sort of resilience, humility and honesty that convinced West Coast he was the right man for the job.
There’s no coaching playbook for captains meeting with opposition coaches, premature retirements, off-field indiscretions, ‘pathetic’ quarters, substitute faux pas, a loss of passion and tragic deaths among other things.
At 1-14, we might not be able to see the fruits of his labour yet. But those who know him best are convinced that McQualter can lift the Eagles off the canvas.
“I’ve been really impressed with how he’s handled himself,” Riewoldt said. “When you watch the Eagles play, you can see a clear brand of football coming through.
“His fingerprints are all over those players now. It’ll just be a matter of time before they start to flourish on the field as well.”
Added Montagna: “When you look back now, he had a lot of the characteristics that would hold him in good stead as a senior coach.
“He was that typical role player who was disciplined and did whatever the team needed. He also had this steely competitiveness about him.
“At the same time, he was a calm, measured teammate. He wasn’t flustered by much.”
Originally published as From Oscar Allen’s future to Jeremy McGovern’s retirement, Andrew McQualter faces it all in first year as coach
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