By Peter Ryan and Jake Niall
Three experienced assistant coaches from Victorian clubs remain in the hunt for the West Coast senior coaching position.
Collingwood midfield coach Hayden Skipworth, Geelong’s Steven King and Melbourne assistant and former Richmond caretaker Andrew McQualter are vying for the coaching position at West Coast, with interviews slated for two of those pair this week, according to three AFL industry sources familiar with knowledge of the coach search.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae (second from right) last year with his brains trust of (from left) Hayden Skipworth, Brendon Bolton and Justin Leppitsch.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
While Skipworth and McQualter are earmarked to be interviewed by West Coast’s coach-search panel later this week, King is not expected to be interviewed this week as the Cats prepare for the preliminary final. If the Cats win, his in-depth interview could be further delayed until after the grand final.
Skipworth, a former Adelaide and Essendon player, has built his credentials as an assistant at Collingwood – and as part of their premiership coaching team under Craig McRae – after serving an apprenticeship with Essendon that included coaching the club’s VFL affiliate, the Bendigo Bombers, from 2013 until 2016. He also coached alongside West Coast great and premiership skipper and coach John Worsfold while at the Bombers. He joined the Magpies from 2020 and has been responsible for the midfield, where he has forged a close relationship with 400-game icon Scott Pendlebury.
McQualter had a lengthy stint as an assistant under Damien Hardwick at Richmond and was the caretaker – and a candidate for the position longer-term – after Hardwick quit in the middle of 2023, but crossed to Melbourne when he was beaten for the position by Adem Yze. He worked as a development coach in his early years with the Tigers, having played with St Kilda in the 2000s.
Steven King addresses the Gold Coast players in his first game as interim coach of the club.Credit: Getty Images
King was Geelong skipper from 2003-2006 and played in the Cats’ drought-breaking premiership in 2007. He played under Ross Lyon at the Saints before beginning his coaching career alongside Brendan McCartney and Luke Beveridge with the Western Bulldogs, where he spent 10 years.
He was on the Bulldogs’ coaching panel when the club won the 2016 premiership and became a senior assistant to Beveridge in 2019, part of the coaching panel that led the club to the 2021 grand final. King then joined Gold Coast as senior assistant to Stuart Dew in 2022 before being the caretaker coach for the final seven matches of 2023 after Dew was sacked. He then left to return to Geelong in 2024.
His focus is on the Cats’ finals campaign with Geelong in the preliminary final against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday.
Adam Simpson coached West Coast for 11 seasons, including guiding the club to the 2018 premiership, before his tenure was brought to an end in July.
Sources familiar with the search’s progress said West Coast caretaker Jarrad Schofield was no longer in contention for the senior role after leading the club in the final seven matches this season for two wins and five losses.
West Coast’s coaching selection panel includes CEO Don Pyke, football manager Gavin Bell, board members Rowan Jones and Jan Cooper as well as former Geelong premiership player Harry Taylor, who is a performance leadership consultant.
Some potential candidates with relationships with the Eagles who are assistants at other clubs – Dean Cox (Sydney), Jaymie Graham (Fremantle) and Ash Hansen (Carlton) – opted not to pursue the position, largely for family or personal reasons.
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