West Coast Eagles: Nick Riewoldt says Andrew McQualter is the right man to lead struggling AFL side

Nick Riewoldt knows Andrew McQualter “pretty well” and the St Kilda great is confident his former teammate will be able to guide West Coast through one of their darkest hours in the club’s history as they strive for their first win of 2025.

As the Eagles prepare to take on Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium today - following weeks of speculation about Oscar Allen’s future with the club after he met with Hawks coach Sam Mitchell - Riewoldt believes McQualter will continue to make the tough choices in the best interest of his side.

One of those choices is reportedly playing Allen in the defensive line today after the Eagles skipper was “managed” and did not play against Essendon in the heartbreaking two-point loss in round six at Optus Stadium. He has only managed to kick four goals this season.

Riewoldt played with McQualter at St Kilda from 2005 to 2011, including in the 2009 and the 2010 grand finals - none of which they won.

The pair played in the famous drawn grand final against Collingwood before losing the replay a week later against the Pies.

He said despite a lot of commentary around the future of Allen and Harley Reid, and if those stars will remain at the club, McQualter had shown strong leadership.

“I think Andrew McQualter has clearly made an impression there, and even little things like the dropping of Tim Kelly takes a bit of courage as a young coach to do that,” he said.

“They’re the sort of things that demonstrates a coach and a football club isn’t going to be held captive by talent.

“And that reverberates through the group. I know ‘Mini’ McQualter pretty well and played a lot of footy with him. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him and his ability to drive really high standards within that group.”

McQualter and Mitchell have both spoken about their chance meeting during Gather Round in Adelaide, but neither were prepared to disclose if the Allen meeting or potential Hawks’ overtures towards Harley Reid were discussed.

Allen has endured a tumultuous few weeks after it was revealed he had met with Mitchell in Perth.

The 26-year-old fronted a press conference professing his regret at the meeting being made public and admitting he was ashamed as he apologised to his teammates and the club’s fans.

His absence from the coach’s box during the Essendon game fulled further speculation over Allen’s loyalties.

McQualter explained Allen’s absence by saying he had been given time off by the club.

“When we decided we weren’t going to play him last week, we decided to give him a few days away from the footy club,” McQualter told 7News on Monday.

Those comments have increased expectations about how Allen will perform against Hawthorn.

Allen and Hawks skipper James Sicily have both been in the spotlight for underperforming after Sicily had a poor game in the Easter Monday loss to the Cats.

Riewoldt, who led the Saints for a decade, said the form of the skipper was vital to a team’s success.

“I don’t think it’s tougher than it used to be. I think the responsibility is still one that is means you are just a little bit different,” The Agenda Setters panellist said.

“You’re a representative, not just of the team, but at the football club. You can make the argument that Max Gawn and his leadership over the last 12 months has been as important as ever with the instability at Melbourne off field.

“It’s the responsibility of driving standards and being that link between the playing group and the coach. There’s a huge role to play there and brings us back to Oscar Allen situation.

“It’s very difficult to talk about culture and talk about standards and talk about the direction you’re heading in as a football club if teammates get a whiff of you not wanting to be there.

“That’s where I felt for Oscar in that situation, because it would have been incredibly difficult walking back into that club environment with everyone knowing that you met with an opposition coach. “

Few former players know more about kicking goals than Riewoldt. The St Kilda legend booted 718 majors.

Riewoldt says when Allen returns to the frontline he needed to get back to basics to get back to his best.

“Oscar Allen looks like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders,” the Channel 7 commentator said.

“He just needs to simplify his game and get back to get back to the real core of what playing key forward is all about.

“That’s getting to as many contests as possible, as when he’s at his best he’s been a really athletic centre half forward. He hits the logos, gets his man up and beats him back.

“And I just don’t think we’ve seen that. If I was to sum it up to him, I’d would say put in the time and work, try and get to 10-15 contests a quarter and see what comes out of that. “

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