WEST COAST is set to fly leading candidates Hayden Skipworth and Andrew McQualter to Western Australia for another round of interviews later this week, as the Eagles narrow down their coaching search.
Skipworth and McQualter have already been interviewed for the high-profile coaching position, but both Collingwood and Melbourne are aware their respective assistants will jet into Perth later this week for more formal chats in the most significant development of the process.
Geelong assistant Steven King is the third contender still in the hunt for the vacant coaching position, but won't fly to Western Australia due to his club's preliminary final preparations ahead of the game against Brisbane on Saturday evening.
West Coast has been on the hunt for its next senior coach since Adam Simpson departed the club in July, with the club's five-person selection panel interviewing a host of candidates across recent weeks.
Skipworth, McQualter and King have subsequently been whittled down to the final shortlist, with the Eagles looking to ramp up the search in the coming days in the hope of finalising the position before next month's trade and free agency period.
A host of players, including Richmond pair Liam Baker and Shai Bolton, have requested trades to Western Australia but have held off nominating a preferred club until West Coast's coaching search concludes.
Their premiership teammate Jack Graham has also been weighing up a four-year deal from the Eagles, as well as a four-year offer to stay at the Tigers, but has delayed his call until a coach has been found.
Skipworth has spent the last five seasons as an assistant at Collingwood, playing a key role in the side's 2023 premiership success after beginning at the Magpies in an Academy role.
A 55-game player with Adelaide and Essendon through the 2000s, Skipworth also spent a decade working at the Bombers in development roles and as the club's VFL senior coach.
McQualter moved to Melbourne ahead of this season, having previously spent 10 years as an assistant at Richmond where he worked through the side's premiership successes of 2017, 2019 and 2020.
A 94-game player at St Kilda and Gold Coast, McQualter also led the Tigers as a caretaker coach for the final 13 games of their 2023 campaign and guided the club to a 7-6 record in that time following Damien Hardwick's abrupt departure.
King also spent time as a caretaker coach at Gold Coast in 2023, before moving back to Geelong this season – where he played the bulk of his 240-game career – to work alongside senior coach Chris Scott.
He had previously spent a decade as an assistant at the Western Bulldogs, working under Luke Beveridge when the club claimed its drought-breaking premiership victory in 2016.
