{"id":526107,"date":"2026-03-08T05:19:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T05:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526107\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T05:19:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T05:19:12","slug":"west-coast-coach-andrew-mcqualter-says-eagles-want-to-be-destination-club-not-a-fan-of-long-term-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526107\/","title":{"rendered":"West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says Eagles want to be destination club, not a fan of long-term contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew McQualter wants West Coast to become a destination club to continue to land established AFL talent – but don\u2019t expect the Eagles to join the growing AFL trend of handing out long-term contracts to land stars in their nest.<\/p>\n

West Coast have been one of the most active clubs over the past two off-seasons, turning over their list with 24 fresh faces through the drafts, free agencies and trades.<\/p>\n

They have had a particular focus on adding experience to complement the young talent they have drafted, with Liam Baker (Richmond), Brandon Starcevich and Deven Robertson (both Brisbane) returning to WA after establishing their careers in the east.<\/p>\n

The Eagles have also managed to bring in several non-Sangropers, including South Australian Jack Graham, New South Wales-raised defender Tylar Young (both Richmond) and Victorian forward Matt Owies (Carlton).<\/p>\n

McQualter said they would continue to work to add as much talent as they could to improve their list to return to finals as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge part of our game now and when you\u2019re in a position to build your list and build your profile, the skill will be who you use from an acquisition point of view and bring in,\u201d he told The West Sport Show.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to try to target as much talent as we can in that space. We will be active and we\u2019ll continue to be active there.\u201d<\/p>\n

AFL clubs are no longer reluctant to hand out lengthy contracts in order to either retain or attract the best players in the game.<\/p>\n

Sam Walsh recently joined the growing list of stars locked into mammoth deals, re-signing at Carlton for a further eight years to tie him to the club until the end of 2034.<\/p>\n

It follows the likes of Fremantle\u2019s Caleb Serong and Hayden Young, who have penned seven and six-year extensions to remain at the Dockers until 2034 and 2033 respectively.<\/p>\n

The Eagles have already been inadvertently involved in these sort of deals as well, with reports No.1 draftee Harley Reid had been offered monster deals to return home to Victoria.<\/p>\n

Co-captain Liam Baker, forward Jake Waterman, recruit Brandon Starcevich and mid-season draftee Jack Hutchinson hold the longest contracts at Mineral Resources Park, all signed until the end of 2029.<\/p>\n

McQualter revealed he wasn\u2019t a fan of the long deals, saying they weren\u2019t good for either clubs or players.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really interesting landscape at the moment. There\u2019s got to be a balance, but I don\u2019t think really, really long contracts are probably good for anyone if I\u2019m being honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they don\u2019t suit either party but there\u2019s some players we want to keep at our football club for a long period of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fortunate we\u2019ve got a great team who look after that and I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll do that well.\u201d<\/p>\n

West Coast might be yet to play a game for premiership points, but they\u2019ve already been linked to one of the biggest free agents this year in dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale.<\/p>\n

\"LachieCamera IconLachie Neale\u2019s future is set to be a big talking point. Credit: Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The former Brisbane captain has been touted to potentially return to WA to be closer to his two children after his now former partner Jules moved back to Perth after their public separation over the off-season.<\/p>\n

Neale may not fit the profile his former side Fremantle are looking for but the Eagles have made it well known they\u2019re after experience to guide the next generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t speak to players individually but if you just look broadly we\u2019re always targeting people that we think can help,\u201d McQualter said when he asked about his interest in the 32-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cAge is not really a factor for that discussion. Lachie has clearly been an incredible player for a long period of time, a two-time Brownlow medallist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will look to target anyone that we think can come in and help our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gold Coast forward Jed Walter is another potential target because he is out of contract and has strong family ties to WA.<\/p>\n

\"JedCamera IconJed Walter. Credit: Matt Roberts\/via Getty Images<\/p>\n

When asked about any interest in the Suns powerhouse, McQualter said: \u201cThe decisions we\u2019re going to have to make going forward are going to be trade, free agency \u2014 all those things \u2014 and draft capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll put a lot of work into that and you have to weigh up how many young players you keep taking in the draft versus acquisitions and trade and free agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will use every avenue we can to get the best players we can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew McQualter wants West Coast to become a destination club to continue to land established AFL talent –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,588,85,7067],"class_list":["post-526107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-west-coast-eagles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}