The two big challenges facing new Eagles coach Andrew McQualter: staff and player development
Andrew McQualter has two massive challenges in front of him, and he’ll be neck deep in one before training starts and buried in the other well before Round 1, 2025. MARK DUFFIELD unpacks the giants tasks in front of ‘Mini’.
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Long before West Coast’s new coach Andrew McQualter lays a glove on West Coast’s players at the start of pre-season the most critical work he may face in his first two years at the helm must be done: Shaping a new coaching group.
The second is shaping a game plan.
“We need a great coaching group,” McQualter said at his press conference on Monday afternoon. “This job can’t be done by one person.”
It can’t be done by one person at any club but most certainly not at West Coast right now.
The Eagles are in an acute development phase of the biggest rebuild in the club’s history.
Just as McQualter’s strong background in development would have been a key factor in him getting the nod over strong coaching candidates Hayden Skipworth and Steven King, his ability to assemble a strong group of coaches that can develop young talent will be a key factor in whether his coaching tenure at the Eagles is a success or failure.
The Eagles coaching group was not known as a strong development group.
Former coach Adam Simpson was an “executing” coach not a development coach.
West Coast had mistakenly viewed themselves still in contention as recently as the start of the 2023 season.
The reason the club has found itself so far behind the Eight ball is that they didn’t see the snooker coming.
And the group they have had in place may be significantly changed too.
Matthew Knights has already left.
Interim coach Jarrad Schofield is overseas at the moment and CEO Don Pyke said whether he stays or goes may depend on conversations between he and McQualter on a role going forward.
It is understood Schofield has a one-year contract offer on the table in front of him and that offer may be extended by a year or two if the talks between him and the new coach go well.
Luke Webster is another facing an uncertain future.
He was at McQualter’s press conference but as of last week had no offer in front of him and had put feelers out to see if there were opportunities for him elsewhere.
While West Coast’s coaching selection process got off to an uncertain start with the withdrawals of Dean Cox, Ash Hansen, Josh Carr and Daniel Giansiracusa from the race it finished strongly amid airtight secrecy and three very solid candidates – McQualter, Hayden Skipworth and Steven King – in the running before McQualter was told on Sunday morning that he had the job.
The Eagles are adamant that the strong possibility that Richmond pair Liam Baker and Jack Graham would join McQualter played no role in their selection process but it is a nice little spin off benefit nonetheless.
McQualter’s appointment was confirmed before 7am Perth time on Monday morning.
The want of Graham and Baker to join the Eagles was confirmed before 8am.
Graham is a free agent, Baker will cost a draft pick and negotiations between three clubs will have to play out before that gets finalised – The Eagles want Tom Barrass’s likely shift to Hawthorn to give them two draft picks one of which will be Hawthorn’s pick 13.
Richmond will want that pick 13 passed on for Baker.
Neither Baker nor Graham are worldbeaters but they fit neatly into the 22-27 age bracket where a massive hole exists on West Coast’s list.
At worst they will be mature bodied, experienced scaffolding to put around younger members of the Eagles list trying to make their way in the AFL.
McQualter might lack the high profile of some but his coaching resume is sound and devoid of red flags that might make clubs steer clear.
His work as a development coach at Richmond helped produce a premiership list.
His work as an assistant helped win three flags and his work as an interim coach produced a 7-6 record over a longer than usual caretaker’s period.
Predecessor Damien Hardwick had left after round 10 with the Tigers 3-6-1 in the 2023 season.
The 38 year old confirmed at his press conference that he has a firm view on how the game “should look” and while his resume also includes a 12 month stint as a senior assistant at Melbourne there is a fair bet it McQualter will want West Coast to look more like Richmond going forward than they have looking back.
While some have tried to paint this job as a “poisoned chalice” it is a massive coaching opportunity.
The Eagles are the best-resourced club in the AFL and their history suggests coaches get time to go about their work.
Adam Simpson was at the helm for almost 11 years, John Worsfold for 12 before him.
Yes there were grand finals and premierships in their stints but there were wooden spoons as well and it could be argued they stuck with Simpson for 12 months more than other clubs might have.
But it is a massive job nonetheless.
And McQualter’s first move – the men he puts around himself – might go a long way to seeing if he can stay in the job as long as the two men before him.
THE RASCAL UNAFRAID TO SPEAK HIS MIND
Andrew McQualter was a young “rascal” who grew up quickly in the AFL system to become a leader never afraid to speak his mind.
Brendon Goddard, a close friend of McQualter’s since the age of 10, said that was whether he was fielding in the slips in school cricket offering unsolicited critiques on an opposition batter, or whether he was in a team meeting at St Kilda surrounded by some of football’s strongest player personalities, with one of the game’s strongest coaching personalities Ross Lyon holding court.
“We grew up together,” Goddard said on Monday.
“We go a long way back since under 10 footy, basketball and cricket. I was always a year above him in terms of age group and playing footy and basketball and cricket against one another and then we played basketball together at representative level.
“At 14 we started playing cricket together. We have pretty much been best mates from the time we were 12 or 13 until now.
“Our lives very much revolved around sport and if you put he and I in a room together, you probably wouldn’t meet two more competitive individuals in your life.”
In the country friends gravitate to each other around sport and highly competitive individuals find ways to make playing sport more convenient.
Goddard and McQualter were drawn together.
McQualter and his family lived in the major regional centre Traralgon while Goddard hailed from out of town.
“I used to spend a lot of time at his house in Traralgon. I lived out of town in Glengarry which is about 10 minutes out so I spent a lot of time there from the age of 13 to 16,” Goddard said. “I was there most weekends – even after school – so I could go to cricket training.
“He was a bit of a rascal like most of us were back in the day but he grew up pretty quickly once he was in the AFL system.”
McQualter’s nickname “Mini”, short for Mini-me of Austin Powers movies fame, is based on him being a smaller, younger copy of brother Tom who was a fine cricketer.
Father Ken had been a very good cricketer too and Andrew was more than handy.
“A bit of an all rounder,” Goddard said, which referred mainly to his batting, a little to his bowling with his fielding and talking – the ability to give plenty of lip from close in – worthy of mention.
“He and I at junior level and representative level opened the batting either together or in the top order. He was pretty handy in the slips and on the sledge. He was always close enough to the bat that they could hear him all of the time.”
Circumstances also had him following in Goddard’s footsteps.
Goddard who was a year older, went to Caulfield Grammar before McQualter arrived there and also played in the Victorian Country under 16s and under 18s teams a year before McQualter captained the Vics at both under age carnivals.
Goddard was drafted to St Kilda at 17 – the first player picked in 2002.
McQualter followed him in 2004 – pick 17 at the back end of the first round.
“He was a great character and he showed great leadership,” Goddard said.
“The other trait evident was his competitiveness. He was a very strong leader. He knew who he was and what he wanted and how to get it. They are still strong traits from him today. His reliability – his effort – his intensity on the footy field at all ages could never be questioned and he has taken those traits on later in life and now as a coach and as a dad and husband.”
Their playing careers were clearly different.
Goddard played 205 games at the Saints before further 129 at Essendon.
McQualter – delisted early then relisted, played 89 at St Kilda before a further five at Gold Coast.
They played together in the 2009 and 2010 grand finals when the Saints fell agonisingly short of a drought breaking flag.
Asked if he saw a coach in McQualter as they were playing out their careers together Goddard said: “When I look back on it now probably yes but at the time you weren’t thinking about it as players.
“When he left St Kilda and went to Gold Coast I know we had discussions when he came back to Melbourne of him heading down that path and he was already starting down that path at Gold Coast.
“He saw the game really well. He understood it. He was a really strong leader through the period at St Kilda among some pretty strong voices and strong characters. He was definitely seen as a leader. He was not one to sit back in the back row and not say a word.
“Looking back now you could definitely see that as a player, he had traits that would make him a great coach and he has obviously chosen that path.”
The West Coast coaching job is seen as one of football’s toughest.
The Eagles have holes in their list but one thing Goddard does not doubt is that McQualter will stay the course and will be able to build relationships to help the club through the next period.
“He is a great people person and he has worked really hard on that side of himself,” he said.
“He is big on relationships – a great communicator. Honest. He has great empathy for everyone. I don’t think he will have any issues or that the boys will have any issues in finding and building relationships with him.”
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