Former AFL coach reveals what Andrew McQualter must do to earn contract extension at West Coast Eagles

West Coast are being urged to show faith in rookie coach Andrew McQualter and extend his contract should the Eagles show improvement early in 2026. Former St Kilda coach Scott Watters identified three boxes the second-year coach must tick to earn a new deal beyond next season. Watters said the Eagles’ first-to-third-year players must improve, while the team needed to reduce the number of 10-goal losses and have an identifiable brand in the first half of the season. “The Eagles don’t need to jump quickly but they should be extending McQualter in the second half of this year,” he said. “He took over an extremely dysfunctional team, lacking depth, experience and A-grade talent. “West Coast need to see it through and back their man in. There has been a poor lack of commitment and long-term direction in recent seasons. West Coast need to show some direction and commit.” McQualter is entering the second of his three-season contract as coach of the Eagles after being appointed in late 2024 on the back of premiership leader Adam Simpson’s departure. The former Richmond interim coach had a tough initiation into the top job, with the powerhouse club claiming an unwanted club record of only one win in 2025. However, there is plenty of optimism coming out of Mineral Resources Park under the former St Kilda and Gold Coast midfielder despite the poor on-field results. West Coast had only seven losses by 60 points or more in 2025 compared to eight the previous season, while they were competitive against the likes of premiers Brisbane, preliminary finalists Collingwood and minor premiers Adelaide. The Eagles also blooded 10 debutants, unearthing impressive talent in the likes of Tom McCarthy, Jobe Shanahan and Archer Reid as a part of an extensive rebuild under the new leadership of chief executive Don Pyke. No.1 draftee Harley Reid also showed faith in McQualter’s direction by re-signing for a further two seasons, with the highly sought-after Victorian contracted at the Eagles until the end of 2028. And they’re likely to continue to play more younger talent, having drafted exciting Victorians Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler and Josh Lindsay in the first round of the most recent national draft. West Coast have also gone on an extensive recruiting drive for mature players, bringing in Liam Baker, Jack Graham, Tylar Young and Brandon Starcevich to help fill the void on their list. It comes after fellow battlers Richmond re-signed their coach Adem Yze for a further two-seasons in November, having been due to come out of contract at the end of this year. Yze led the Tigers to only two wins in his first season, but increased it to five last year in a path McQualter and the Eagles will hope to replicate.