Coach Welcome to West Coast: Andrew McQualter

[CursoryMercenary]

So hard to judge this guy. He doesn't have all the tools at his disposal to make a fair judgement, players missing, f*** all talent sitting along side him. Don't even know what to expect from next season. IF everyone is fit you'd expect us to improve I would think significantly maybe 5-8 wins. That's a huge IF though.

 

[Tugga27]

So hard to judge this guy. He doesn't have all the tools at his disposal to make a fair judgement, players missing, f*** all talent sitting along side him. Don't even know what to expect from next season. IF everyone is fit you'd expect us to improve I would think significantly maybe 5-8 wins. That's a huge IF though.

8 wins would be nice but unrealistic TBH.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

The bye is gonna get us again too?

We couldn’t even win an intraclub at this rate

 

[CoastersFlag No.5]

I think his messaging has been fairly spot on. He looks frustrated and I can't blame him. Losing most of the senior players for the year has seriously ****ed his plans up. Trying to motivate in the last 3 games this year is going to be super tough.

 

[DorothyG]

I feel, he gets a free pass this year.

Just because he came in so late last year. Really had no say on what the club gave him the wheels too.

Hopefully he can actually bring in his own assistance with there own "brand" (I hate that word) and start working towards that as one.

Really anyone at the club that is lingering around from the Simmo era needs to be show the door. Sheuy, Scofield, Webster, Duggan and Allen as captains.

Make next year as clean a slate as possible and judge him from there on.

 

[sharps24]

I think his messaging has been fairly spot on. He looks frustrated and I can't blame him. Losing most of the senior players for the year has seriously ****ed his plans up. Trying to motivate in the last 3 games this year is going to be super tough.

For sure the year hasn't gone as planned for him but I'm not sure his messaging has been on point. Seems to have almost dropped his bundle since the Richmond game. Still a month of footy left so it's not great just all but declaring we're basically just counting down the days until the end of the season. As a fan the losses mean nothing to me, and there is still plenty I'd like to take out of the remaining games. A Luca Greggo debut, a Jamie Cripps WAFL appearance so he can play his first game for the Beagles before he retires, a roll through the forward line for Liam Duggan, Sandy Brock being treated to some semblance of respect and selection integrity, more Bailey Williams first ruck, more Chesser, more Tom Gross CBA's, a big Coen debut and a send off game for Loch Rawlinson even. Anything except just getting flogged each week having made the minimum changes and going into the presser with you bottom lip on the floor and calling the effort unacceptable or calling the team weak or whatever the feeling is. You are just not moving the needle that way with this group who've heard it all before. There are advantages to having a coach that hates losing and with some luck it'll be a spicy off season but lets make the most of the last handful of games given its already been established winning one is out of the question.

 

[Kegs15]

For sure the year hasn't gone as planned for him but I'm not sure his messaging has been on point. Seems to have almost dropped his bundle since the Richmond game. Still a month of footy left so it's not great just all but declaring we're basically just counting down the days until the end of the season. As a fan the losses mean nothing to me, and there is still plenty I'd like to take out of the remaining games. A Luca Greggo debut, a Jamie Cripps WAFL appearance so he can play his first game for the Beagles before he retires, a roll through the forward line for Liam Duggan, Sandy Brock being treated to some semblance of respect and selection integrity, more Bailey Williams first ruck, more Chesser, more Tom Gross CBA's, a big Coen debut and a send off game for Loch Rawlinson even. Anything except just getting flogged each week having made the minimum changes and going into the presser with you bottom lip on the floor and calling the effort unacceptable or calling the team weak or whatever the feeling is. You are just not moving the needle that way with this group who've heard it all before. There are advantages to having a coach that hates losing and with some luck it'll be a spicy off season but lets make the most of the last handful of games given its already been established winning one is out of the question.

I do actually agree with most of your tweaks/selections, certainly as a bigfooty nuffie who likes debuts and experimentation - but guess it's hard to balance external messaging, internal messaging (for the players) and sticking with what the plan was at the start of the season.

We've seen elements of his gameplan coming together, especially mid-season. I'm fairly certain the plan from preseason up until then would have been learn and develop our Plan A gamestyle with the most settled lineup possible, cop the inconsistency and losses, let the kids learn the game and the senior players give consistent leadership, let the youngsters in the WAFL develop their games and earn selection and altogether try not to overly disrupt things. That's pretty much how Richmond and North have played out their years.

What was unexpected was the season (or career) ending injuries to our leaders and stars (Sheed I think is underrated not for what he'd do at AFL level but in being able to prop up our WAFL side in his last year), the snowball effect of players tiring and not snagging random wins for that sugar hit both at AFL/WAFL. It's essentially been so catastrophically bad that an approach that would have been correct had we had a Richmond/North season now looks incorrect based on the year we've had.

Does he now throw things around like you say, which would send the message of 'year's over, let's roll some random dice' (something we all on here know is true but unlikely a great vibe for the players, many of whom are playing for their careers)? None of Grego/Livingstone/Rawlinson have come close to putting up 2 selectable games in a row this year outside Grego's first 3 weeks - throwing them a courtesy game for the hell of it probably wouldn't send the message to our younger guys he would have been hoping for. You certainly can't tell the players winning one is out of the question, even if everyone somewhat knows it.

I dunno, just reckon it's been near impossible to balance the consistency of his messaging with the year we've had, and some stuff is going to be the wrong call no matter what (if our lineup can only fit one of Brock/Bazzo, do we go with Brock who I agree has been better, or do we want to see as much as we can of Bazzo given Brock is already re-signed, important information for the coaches on making a decision on his future).

All that being said I'd certainly like to see elements of the things you suggested, I just think it'll be drip fed if at all and don't blame Mini for most of it so far, he'll have to balance the vibes of consistency/experimentation and doing nothing/panicking over these last few weeks.

(I absolutely think Gross' mismanagement has been an outright issue that goes beyond what I'm trying to say, absolutely agree he should be at more CBAs. He's the one in the WAFL who's genuinely earnt it).

 

[sharps24]

I do actually agree with most of your tweaks/selections, certainly as a bigfooty nuffie who likes debuts and experimentation - but guess it's hard to balance external messaging, internal messaging (for the players) and sticking with what the plan was at the start of the season.

We've seen elements of his gameplan coming together, especially mid-season. I'm fairly certain the plan from preseason up until then would have been learn and develop our Plan A gamestyle with the most settled lineup possible, cop the inconsistency and losses, let the kids learn the game and the senior players give consistent leadership, let the youngsters in the WAFL develop their games and earn selection and altogether try not to overly disrupt things. That's pretty much how Richmond and North have played out their years.

What was unexpected was the season (or career) ending injuries to our leaders and stars (Sheed I think is underrated not for what he'd do at AFL level but in being able to prop up our WAFL side in his last year), the snowball effect of players tiring and not snagging random wins for that sugar hit both at AFL/WAFL. It's essentially been so catastrophically bad that an approach that would have been correct had we had a Richmond/North season now looks incorrect based on the year we've had.

Does he now throw things around like you say, which would send the message of 'year's over, let's roll some random dice' (something we all on here know is true but unlikely a great vibe for the players, many of whom are playing for their careers)? None of Grego/Livingstone/Rawlinson have come close to putting up 2 selectable games in a row this year outside Grego's first 3 weeks - throwing them a courtesy game for the hell of it probably wouldn't send the message to our younger guys he would have been hoping for. You certainly can't tell the players winning one is out of the question, even if everyone somewhat knows it.

I dunno, just reckon it's been near impossible to balance the consistency of his messaging with the year we've had, and some stuff is going to be the wrong call no matter what (if our lineup can only fit one of Brock/Bazzo, do we go with Brock who I agree has been better, or do we want to see as much as we can of Bazzo given Brock is already re-signed, important information for the coaches on making a decision on his future).

All that being said I'd certainly like to see elements of the things you suggested, I just think it'll be drip fed if at all and don't blame Mini for most of it so far, he'll have to balance the vibes of consistency/experimentation and doing nothing/panicking over these last few weeks.

(I absolutely think Gross' mismanagement has been an outright issue that goes beyond what I'm trying to say, absolutely agree he should be at more CBAs. He's the one in the WAFL who's genuinely earnt it).

At this point of the year "wanting to see how they go at AFL level'' is a justifiable reason for selection for any of those guys without a contract. Let's not forget Rawlinson was named in the extended squad last week. Is he likely to save his career with a call up, probably not. But when you haven't won a game all year and can't finish any higher now than dead last, and you need to make a call on innumerable list changes, selecting players to see what they offer at the AFL level shouldn't be seen as exceptional or somehow undermining values. They are already doing it with Bazzo at present. And had Greggo been injured all year and not played a single game of WAFL but was available for selection this week there is nothing wrong with giving him a taste, busting his cherry for the sake of him going into the pre-season with some kind of appreciation in his own mind as to what to expect. Unless I am mistaken Greggo is the only player on the main list who is an AFL virgin, it's cruel to just do nothing to remedy that given the current state of affairs.

 

[Total_Juddshanks]

I do actually agree with most of your tweaks/selections, certainly as a bigfooty nuffie who likes debuts and experimentation - but guess it's hard to balance external messaging, internal messaging (for the players) and sticking with what the plan was at the start of the season.

We've seen elements of his gameplan coming together, especially mid-season. I'm fairly certain the plan from preseason up until then would have been learn and develop our Plan A gamestyle with the most settled lineup possible, cop the inconsistency and losses, let the kids learn the game and the senior players give consistent leadership, let the youngsters in the WAFL develop their games and earn selection and altogether try not to overly disrupt things. That's pretty much how Richmond and North have played out their years.

What was unexpected was the season (or career) ending injuries to our leaders and stars (Sheed I think is underrated not for what he'd do at AFL level but in being able to prop up our WAFL side in his last year), the snowball effect of players tiring and not snagging random wins for that sugar hit both at AFL/WAFL. It's essentially been so catastrophically bad that an approach that would have been correct had we had a Richmond/North season now looks incorrect based on the year we've had.

Does he now throw things around like you say, which would send the message of 'year's over, let's roll some random dice' (something we all on here know is true but unlikely a great vibe for the players, many of whom are playing for their careers)? None of Grego/Livingstone/Rawlinson have come close to putting up 2 selectable games in a row this year outside Grego's first 3 weeks - throwing them a courtesy game for the hell of it probably wouldn't send the message to our younger guys he would have been hoping for. You certainly can't tell the players winning one is out of the question, even if everyone somewhat knows it.

I dunno, just reckon it's been near impossible to balance the consistency of his messaging with the year we've had, and some stuff is going to be the wrong call no matter what (if our lineup can only fit one of Brock/Bazzo, do we go with Brock who I agree has been better, or do we want to see as much as we can of Bazzo given Brock is already re-signed, important information for the coaches on making a decision on his future).

All that being said I'd certainly like to see elements of the things you suggested, I just think it'll be drip fed if at all and don't blame Mini for most of it so far, he'll have to balance the vibes of consistency/experimentation and doing nothing/panicking over these last few weeks.

(I absolutely think Gross' mismanagement has been an outright issue that goes beyond what I'm trying to say, absolutely agree he should be at more CBAs. He's the one in the WAFL who's genuinely earnt it).

Yeah there are three things that I think need to be understood when it comes to assessing mcqualter's year.

1. He was starting in an incredibly difficult position. The list was a truly special kind of ****ed, he didn't have time to select his own assistants, it was always going to be an uphill battle.

2. Starting from that rough position, he then suffered utterly astonishing, jaw dropping bad luck. Like mind blowingly bad luck. Cumulatively, I think probably the worst luck of any eagles coach in any season since the clubs inception, just in terms of the sheer number of things that have gone wrong and the horrible way the team has combusted at exactly the wrong moment.

Given the low base he was starting from, to have the footy gods rule a line through basically every elite player he had access to, starting with our most important mid before a game was played, our best forward, our AA key defender, our next best forward and captain and finishing up with Harley ****ing Reid just as he hit form is just gutwrenching. The issue there is not quantity, it's quality in a team which simply did not have spare quality to play with. No team could absorb those sort of gut punches, and certainly not a bottom 2 team.

And its not just the outs, with such a young team, McQualter desperately needed some early wins to instill belief and motivation in a list that had lost way too much over the past few years. But even when we played well enough to win, those wins just didn't come. You can look at being up against the lions at the gabba with a quarter to play, or being within a kick against Essendon in what would have been a stirring come from behind win, or being in it against Geelong with a quarter or play, or leading for most of the game against Collingwood or even the way the system dominated the kangas in bunbury but butchered everything in front of goal, or Gross getting nailed when he had a chance to kick a match winner against Richmond at the 'G, any or all of those could have been wins but amazingly they all ended up as losses.

Of all of those near misses it's the game against Brisbane in Rd 2 which is imo the big sliding doors moment for the year. We were ahead by 20 at half time then kicked 1.6 in the third term, then lost both Bailey (who was actually having a good game for a change) and archer reid and ended up with reuben ginbey having to ruck whilst Brisbane rolled over us- even an average third quarter in front of goal and we go into the last quarter with a match winning lead, and fly home having knocked off the reigning premiers on their home turf. The value of that win in terms of motivation and self belief would have been huge.

3. I dont actually think there is a right way to coach the team over the last few weeks, they are simply done. The Richmond obliteration was the point at which the team, with the core leadership already gone, full of inexperienced and mentally weak players who have simply lost way too many games from winning positions finally just broke mentally and gave up. They're absolutely shot at the moment, there's no quality leaders left out there, there are some people who realise their careers are over no matter what and are just going through the motions and there are a bunch of kids who melt as soon as any pressure is applied because that's all they've ever experienced. I genuinely can't see what mini can say or do for the rest of the year- if he cracks the whip they'll just melt harder, if he looks for positives in big losses he's rewarding mediocrity, if he tries to tell them they are a chance against adelaide or the dogs he will just sound delusional, in short they are absolutely cooked and the end of the year can't come soon enough.

I just hope Mini is given a free hand to pick his own staff next year- he deserves to have a proper crack.

 

[southcoast]

Nah sack him. Didn't win his first game as Eagles Coach.

It's all down hill from here.

Note I type in jest

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Was it really bad luck that saw Sheed, Yeo, Allen, McGovern of all ****ing players miss most/all of the season?

 

[bzparkes]

Was it really bad luck that saw Sheed, Yeo, Allen, McGovern of all ****ing players miss most/all of the season?

Well, apart from Allen, yes.

Sheed - ACL
Yeo - Ankle done in a tackle
McGovern - Pushed into a pack in a marking contract, concussed, ded.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Well, apart from Allen, yes.

Sheed - ACL
Yeo - Ankle done in a tackle
McGovern - Pushed into a pack in a marking contract, concussed, ded.

Must be that grand final curse then cos that group have been mightily unlucky since then.

 

[bzparkes]

Must be that grand final curse then cos that group have been mightily unlucky since then.

Well, poor injury management in previous seasons, yes, but Yeo and McGovern played most of last year and would've this year if not for 'luck'.

 

[Boohemian]

It's remarkable that we haven't simply conjured reliable, senior players out from thin air.

 

[Avalor]

Maybe he can now bring Goodwin in as an assistant coach.

 

[BSD]

Maybe he can now bring Goodwin in as an assistant coach.

And Chocco as football manager instead of Bell.

 

[Elite Pete]

 

[Wooshaaaa]

Be interesting to see if he stays in same role.

 

[Elite Pete]

Be interesting to see if he stays in same role.

Yeah or even the same club? Not sure if Freo have any spots vacant. Tom did say stay in Perth.

 

[WCErevival]

Maybe Shuey is going to strap on the boots.

 

[Goosecat]

 

[Boohemian]

Is there any word on whether we have any assistants without contracts?

Would be interesting to see whether McQualter brings anybody in.

 

[BSD]

Is there any word on whether we have any assistants without contracts?

Would be interesting to see whether McQualter brings anybody in.

i hope he does. Change out all the current assistants apart from Shuey.
The question that has to be asked of all of them is "What Have You Done to improve the Club" ?

 

[Seadog]

And Chocco as football manager instead of Bell.

Not sure about footy manager but would be worth looking at as head of development.