IS RICHMOND’S COACHING SEARCH A TWO-HORSE RACE?Lachlan Geleit
SEN
30 July 2023Is Richmond’s coaching search to find Damien Hardwick’s replacement a two-horse race?
While it appears like it’s interim boss Andrew McQualter’s job to lose, Seven’s Mitch Cleary is reporting that Port Adelaide assistant Josh Carr is “rising in estimations” at Tigerland.
Carr returned to Port Adelaide in 2023 after a three-year stint under Justin Longmuir at Fremantle and many believe his influence has helped the Power in their surprise campaign so far.
Garry Lyon believes Carr could be interested in chasing the Richmond role as he may have taken the job at the Power hoping he’d take over from Ken Hinkley.
With Hinkley now seeming destined to extend at Port Adelaide, Carr will be gettable for the Tigers and Lyon discussed Richmond’s coaching search with Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast.
Lyon: “Richmond's coaching job you said McQualter stands alone … and whoever gets it has to beat him and I think that's right.”
Watson: “You don't take on the challenger, you take on the title holder.”
Lyon: “Well Josh Carr, my sources tell me was all but over the line at Port Adelaide, to take over from Ken Hinkley.
“So, he was brought back to (Port Adelaide to take over from Ken Hinkley.
“The anticipation was that Port Adelaide wouldn't have the year that they're having, and therefore that the time would have come for both Ken and Port very politely and amicably say, ‘It's been a great 10 years, but we haven't been able to get there’ … but that’s not happening it appears.
“We're a week away from August and it looks like Ken Hinkley, and why wouldn't you, going to get a new deal.
“That leaves Josh Carr there going, ‘Righto, what does that mean for me?’.
“Your man (Mitch Cleary) says Richmond are all over him.”
Watson: “Well, Mitch Cleary said on Thursday night on our news that he is very much in the frame.
“He's got a lot of boosters out there … people who talk very highly of him.
“People in the industry say that the fact that he's moved away from Fremantle has meant that there's been a lessening in performance from their midfield.
Lyon: “That doesn’t hurt their (the boosters’) narrative.
Watson: “If you're in Richmond's position, you'd be, even though McQualter is doing a really good job and we hear the players talk about him … they still need to be certain that way have is better than what might be out there.”
Lyon: “They would be, I’m sure.
Watson: “The way that they do that is they bring him (Carr) in, and they do the interview process and they talk to him and then they can measure him against what they already have in Andrew McQualter.”
Richmond finalised their panel to find Hardwick’s full-time successor on Thursday.
Richmond figures Tim Livingstone, Blair Hartley and Henriette Rothschild will sit on the panel alongside Football Australia’s Paddy Steinfort and Melbourne Storm’s Frank Ponissi.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/07/30/is-richmonds-coaching-search-a-two-horse-race/
