1 week Ago By Chris Robinson
Hayden Skipworth has praised West Coast’s “awesome” and “professional” coaching interview process despite missing out on the top job. Skipworth was among the final three candidates as the Eagles narrowed their search in September before ultimately deciding on Andrew McQualter as the man to steer the club’s rebuild. It signalled a return to Collingwood as an assistant for Skipworth, but the 41-year-old is set to take on extra responsibility across the pre-season as Pies coach Craig McRae takes a back seat.
Speaking for the first time since missing out on the West Coast role, Skipworth said he was satisfied he had put his best foot forward and at peace with the result. “It was an awesome process,” Skipworth said. “Very professional, West Coast - the way they ran it all.
“It was a win-win for me. I was either going to be a senior coach at West Coast or coming back to a great club. It was a good experience to get through.
“I’ve come to that stage in my career where I need to put my hand up for some of these positions. I feel like I’m ready to go now.” Chris Robinson Craig O'Donoghue Skipworth jetted to the US for a development program shortly after his Eagles audition, spending time inside the four walls of Major League baseball powerhouse New York Yankees in the midst of their World Series run and WNBA champions New York Liberty.
The former Adelaide and Essendon utility said he was excited to apply some of the lessons learnt when taking on a key role at the Pies over summer. “’Fly’ (McRae) has been awesome for my development and for the development of all the other coaches,” Skipworth said. “He’s taking a bit of a step back and giving some space for myself to run the program with the other coaches.
“We have a great coaching team – they run themselves. ‘Fly’ will still be overseeing that, but it does give me some more responsibility.”.
