“TAKE IT TO THE BANK”: WHY FORMER STAR BELIEVES MCQUALTER HAS TIGERS JOB LOCKED UPSeb Mottram
SEN
25 July 2023Paul Hasleby believes Andrew McQualter is going to be Richmond’s next senior coach, partly for how difficult it will prove for anyone to surpass him.
McQualter is six wins from eight games in charge of the Tigers since becoming the club’s interim coach following Round 10.
Richmond says it wants a new coach ideally before the end of the season and has previously indicated a desire for an untried coach.
McQualter, a long-time Richmond assistant, fits the bill and Hasleby has plenty of praise for the 37-year-old.
“Take it to the bank,” the former Dockers star began on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“This will happen 100 per cent because who’s going to come over the top?
“If you think of the review process, he’s been in the chair, they want to get an untried coach, they’re on record saying that.
“So who can come in and wow them more than what he’s already done in the chair.
“He’s been really good in that position, kept their season alive and they could play finals footy.”
McQualter has declared his intentions to take the role from 2024 onwards.
With the club’s process to heat up in the coming weeks, Hasleby believes it will be hard to see any prospective coach prove more than what McQualter has in the last two months.
“They’ll still go through a process, but I can’t see anybody in the process coming over the top and being better than what we’ve seen from him… he’s had the experience, they’ve seen him in the chair,” Hasleby continued.
“It’s going to take one hell of a coach to beat him from this position… and who puts their hand up to go for this job? We know coaches don’t like to lose too often.
“There might be a first timer that goes for the experience, but those coaches that have been in the running a few times, they would know this is going to be a very difficult one to win from where they are.”
McQualter has earnt the support of co-captain Dylan Grimes and is already the heavy favourite to succeed Damien Hardwick on a full-time basis.
Melbourne assistant Adem Yze has gone close on several occasions, Essendon assistant Daniel Giansiracusa has publicly put his hand up and Collingwood’s Hayden Skipworth has had his name thrown up.
Ash Hansen, Josh Carr, Justin Leppitsch and Shaun Grigg are other names expected to come up more as a coaching merry-go-round looms.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/07/25/take-it-to-the-bank-why-former-star-believes-mcqualter-has-tigers-job-locked/
