Andrew McQualter ‘excited’ by West Coast challenge as coaching role fulfils long held dream

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Andrew McQualter has a mountain of work ahead of him to get West Coast flying high again but the new Eagles coach is “excited” by what he sees.

McQualter was announced as the club’s new senior coach on Monday morning and he will have little time to find his feet with the AFL’s free agency period opening on Friday.

As the Eagles look to rebuild from their lowest ebb, McQualter says he is undaunted by the challenge facing him.

“It all kicks off straight away and I’m ready to crack in, we’ll be looking to improve the list straight away whether that’s via trade or by the draft,” he said in a club video.

“I’ve looked really closely at the list in the last few months while in the process for this job and there’s a lot of excitement there for me.

“There’s some terrific young players and some opportunity that will come for some others which is really exciting as well.”

It’s no small decision to uproot his young family and three daughters across the country but McQualter said everyone was ready to embrace West Coast.

“The kids a very excited, my wife’s excited and my eldest Emily told us it’s a great adventure we’re going to go on, so we are all really looking forward to it,” he said.

Having got a taste of senior coaching as interim at Richmond, McQualter said finding a full-time role was something had been thinking about since his playing days.

“The type of player that I was I really relied on my football leadership,” he said.

“I probably wasn’t the best player but I was able to have an influence in different ways and it probably made me think about the game differently, so it’s been in the back of my mind for sometime.”

McQualter will have at least one familiar face at the club having played alongside Jamie Cripps in his final year at St Kilda.

“He was coming through at St Kilda just as I was finishing up, which feels like a lifetime ago because he’s had such a long career,” he said.

“Apart from that there aren’t many players on the list that I’ve had much to deal with, which is exciting for them and for me.”

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