Former caretaker Andrew McQualter has departed Richmond after missing out on the AFL club’s full-time head coaching role to Adem Yze.
On September 21, Yze was named head coach in a tight call ahead of long-standing assistant McQualter, who took the reins after Damien Hardwick’s abrupt resignation in May and led the Tigers to seven wins from 13 games.
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Yze had said he would be happy to have McQualter as his “right-hand man”, but his departure had appeared on the cards.
McQualter has yet to announce his next move, but the Tigers said he had left for another club after 10 years at Punt Rd.
The former St Kilda and Gold Coast player initially joined as VFL playing assistant and development coach ahead of the 2014 season, but later became an AFL assistant.
He was involved in Richmond’s three premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
“We would like to thank Andrew for his incredible service to Richmond across 10 years,” Richmond football performance boss Tim Livingstone said in a statement.
“He formed great relationships within the organisation and played a big part in our success over that period.
“Stepping up to be interim coach was a selfless decision by Andrew, and he did a brilliant job leading the team for 13 weeks.
“Andrew moves on to further enhance his coaching credentials, which we respect.
“He is an excellent coach with a long future in the game, and we wish him and his family all the best.”
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon had approached McQualter last year about joining his panel, but last week said a reunion was unlikely.
“That ship has sailed, to be honest,” Lyon told the SEN radio network.
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