As Andrew McQualter pitches for top Tigers job, Champion Data stats show defensive shortfall11 rounds in, how has Richmond interim coach Andrew McQualter’s ‘audition’ panned out so far? The numbers are in – and they’re not all pretty.
Lauren Wood
HeraldSun
August 8, 2023 Robert De Niro once described auditions as “like a gamble”.
“Most likely you won’t get the part, but if you don’t go, you’ll never know if you could have got it,” the two-time Oscar-winning actor said.
Is the gamble paying off at Punt Road?
For Richmond caretaker Andrew McQualter, stepping into the top job at the Tigers as the club’s coaching selection panel finetunes its list of contenders is now 11 stanzas into Act I as a senior coach.
It’s a sample size — and particularly last weekend’s demolition by the Dogs — had Essendon great Matthew Lloyd this week question whether “the sugar hit and honeymoon period” are over.
While things are tracking promisingly in the team’s attack, Champion Data statistics indicate alarm bells in the Tigers’ defensive set up since McQualter took the reins.
During his tenure, having taken over in Round 11 after Damien Hardwick stepped away – citing burnout before now sunning it up on the burning shores of the Italian coast – the team’s defensive numbers leave Richmond trailing among the bottom few teams of the competition.
Conversely, as McQualter prepares to present his case, the team’s scoring ability per inside 50 entry is top of the tree.
McQualter's 'Audition' - DefenceR11-21 RankPoints Against 94.1 16th
Oppo Points from Turnovers 56.2 16th
Contested Possession Diff -6.8 16th
Inside 50 Diff -11.4 16th
Defensive 50 to Inside 50 % 16% 18th
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But at the contest, territory and in ball movement, things need to lift.
Over the 10-round “audition” period, Richmond ranks 16th in the competition in four key categories – points against, opposition points from turnovers, contested possession differential and inside 50 differential.
Offensively, the team sits in the top half of the game for points for, forward half intercepts and points from forward-half intercepts.
McQualter remains to be considered the frontrunner for the job, with the process anticipated to be completed by September.
The club last week announced the panel that has been tasked with finding the club’s new mentor, which includes club chief executive Brendon Gale – who last week resisted the overtures of the AFL to remain at the Tigers – club vice-president Henriette Rothschild, football managers Tim Livingstone and Blair Hartley, former player and current Football Australia football director Paddy Steinfort and long-time Melbourne Storm football chief Frank Ponissi.
McQualter’s 'Audition' - OFFENCER11-21 RankPoints For 85.6 9th
Score per Inside 50 % 50% 1st
Points from Forward Half 49.9 3rd
Forward Half Intercepts 22.3 8th
Points from Forward Half Intercepts 28.9 7th
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Gale has previously indicated a first-time coach would be a likely choice.
Collingwood assistant coach Justin Leppitsch revealed last week that he was unlikely to pursue the vacant roles at Richmond and Gold Coast, having played a key role in the Tigers’ three flags as an assistant to Hardwick.
Port Adelaide assistant coach Josh Carr is highly-rated and is considered to be a top contender for the job, while Melbourne’s Adem Yze, Collingwood assistant Hayden Skipworth, Sydney’s Don Pyke – who previously coached Adelaide – are all expected to be sounded out.
Tigers ruck Ivan Soldo said on the weekend that while the prospect of Hardwick coaching the Suns was “a tough pill to swallow”, he firmly backed in McQualter to be the man to get the job.
“’Mini’ has done a great job … it’s not really the wins or losses, it’s just his attitude and the way he’s going into the new coaching role,” he said on The Sunday Footy Show.
“It’s good to see for him, as well. I’ve known him for a long time and it was only a matter of time before he had the opportunity to be a head coach.
“I hope that next year they really do consider him, because I really do enjoy him.”
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/as-andrew-mcqualter-pitches-for-top-tigers-job-champion-data-stats-show-defensive-shortfall/news-story/d118b7ca1ef9d1e272d19a08de51c32a
