Richmond have bid farewell to assistant coach and recent interim senior coach Andrew McQualter as he joins another AFL club.
McQualter's future at Punt Road was in doubt following the Tigers' search for Damien Hardwick's successor, with the Richmond assistant among the final few candidates in the running to replace the triple premiership coach.
That race was eventually won by Melbourne's Adem Yze, with McQualter falling short following his 13-game stint as senior coach of the Tigers in the wake of Hardwick's shock resignation in May.
While the club McQualter will join next is yet to be revealed, Richmond confirmed on Tuesday that the 37-year-old would depart for a new AFL team in 2024.
โWe would like to thank Andrew for his incredible service to Richmond across 10 years. He formed great relationships within the organisation and played a big part in our success over that period,โ Richmond performance boss Tim Livingstone said.
โStepping up to be interim coach was a selfless decision by Andrew, and he did a brilliant job leading the team for 13 weeks.
โAndrew moves on to further enhance his coaching credentials, which we respect.
โHe is an excellent coach with a long future in the game, and we wish him and his family all the best.โ
McQualter joined Richmond a decade ago as a playing assistant for the Tigers' VFL side shortly after his retirement as a player following a 94-game career with St Kilda and Gold Coast.
In 2017 McQualter earned an assistant role under Hardwick and has since built a name for himself as an amicable mentor at Tigerland.
He would lead the Tigers from Round 11 this year as the club's caretaker coach and would record seven wins from his 13 games in the hot seat.
