YZE KEEPS RICHMOND DOOR OPEN FOR MCQUALTER, CONSIDERS ASSISTANTS AND OFFERS INSIGHT INTO COACHING PHILOSOPHYAndrew Slevison
SEN
22 September 2023New Richmond coach Adem Yze has kept the door open for unsuccessful candidate Andrew McQualter to remain at the club.
On Thursday night, on his 46th birthday, Yze was appointed as the Tigers’ new senior coach after a rigorous process.
The now former Melbourne assistant was preferred to McQualter, who undertook the interim coaching role in the wake of Damien Hardwick’s mid-season departure.
But McQualter’s days as a Tiger are not over, provided he wants to remain and not pursue a job elsewhere having missed out on the main role at Punt Road.
“If he stays I’d love him to stay,” he said at his press conference.
“He’s created some strong relationships, he understands the place, so I’d have no issue with him staying around and being my right-hand man.
“But if he does move on - we’ll find that out in the next few days - he’ll go with our blessing and I’ll try to fill that spot.”
Yze will now assemble his team of assistants whether they be currently at Richmond or from rival clubs.
He admits he’ll call on former Carlton, St Kilda and North Melbourne (caretaker) coach Brett Ratten who he considers a mentor having worked closely together during Hawthorn’s successful era.
“I’ve got some ideas of the people I might try and bring in, but right now we’ve got an amazing staff, we’ve got some really strong line coaches that have already created a foundation and relationships that I don’t want to break,” Yze continued.
“We’ll work that through that in the next couple of days.
“‘Ratts’ is a mentor of mine, so I’ll give him a call, but we’re just trying to work through what spots we need to fill.
“If there is an opportunity (with Ratten) then there’s a possibility. He’ll be one that I will talk to.”
The former Melbourne star, who played 271 games for the Demons, narrowly missed out on both the Essendon and GWS jobs in 2022 but was not deterred to apply for another senior gig.
“I really enjoyed the process going for two jobs at two good footy clubs,” he said.
“I was really disappointed to miss out but proud of the way I presented. In the end, for me, it was just hoping that there would be another opportunity pop up.
“When an opportunity (came) to coach a big footy club like Richmond footy club, I jumped at it. I was ecstatic when I found out.”
He continued: “It’s a hard one. You start to second guess yourself on whether you should keep going for them, you don’t want to miss too many (jobs).
“I just didn’t want to pass up another opportunity to go to a stable footy club, a really powerful footy club.”
Yze also provided some insight into the way he wants his playing group to perform on the field after making what he describes as a “natural progression” to senior coaching ranks.
The new-school mentality surrounding connection will be key as he goes about endearing himself to the playing group.
“My whole theory around my coaching philosophy is around clarity and connection,” Yze added.
“So they (the players) will be really clear in the way that we play and hopefully they realise how caring I am for our players. I love relationship building, I love connecting with the players, I can’t wait until they get back from Thailand to meet the boys.
“I think I’d be the best coach ever if I rocked up in Thailand and said hello. But that side of it, I can’t wait to meet them and I can’t wait to teach them.
(A trip to Thailand is not actually on the cards).
“The last two really strong footy clubs that I’ve been involved in, the roles I’ve had I’ve felt like I was in the passenger seat.
“The last three years at Melbourne I feel like I’ve been in the driver’s seat on game day. A lot of the roles that I’ve had at both footy clubs have had a lot of responsibility in the way that way play so I feel like the natural progression is senior coach.
“I’m hoping to bring the knowledge and experience of what I’ve learnt over the last few years at two strong footy clubs and bring my slant on the way I think we should play.
“Hopefully we can bounce back really quickly.”
And one of the joys of taking the Richmond role will be getting the chance to coach club great Dustin Martin.
“I can’t wait to work with him,” he said of Martin.
“He’s an amazing player, an amazing person, an amazing Richmond man. To be at the footy club when he plays his 300th game is going to be an amazing opportunity for me.
“He had a terrific season and I can see, not only next year, but a fair few solid years out of ‘Dusty’.
“I’m hoping I can help deliver that with a nice clear role for him and have some impact on games like he normally does.”
A recurring theme from Yze’s press conference was surrounding the opportunity for the youth at the club to really step up now that a number of experienced players, including Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt, have retired.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/09/22/yze-keeps-richmond-door-open-for-mcqualter-considers-assistants-and-offers/
