Alastair Clarkson to coach North Melbourne: How North Melbourne landed footy’s biggest fish
Heading off to watch a traditional 2.10pm Saturday game in Melbourne is usually an easy decision for a footy fan but will Clarko be at Marvel to watch the Roos today?
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The persuasive powers of a first-year president who relished a ‘crash course’ in getting to know Alastair Clarkson and the input of the Brayshaw brothers helped North Melbourne seal its biggest coaching appointment since landing Ron Barassi almost 50 years ago.
As a wave of optimism swept across Arden St to wash away a tumultuous season, president Sonja Hood could barely wipe a smile off her face as she announced Clarkson as the club’s new coach.
Just 39 days earlier, she had sat alongside outgoing coach David Noble at his farewell press conference, with the critics questioning the future direction of the club.
It came as a few powerbrokers and prominent supporters privately and publicly called for change. Some called on Hood to step aside.
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But those close to the club’s first female president – who only officially took over the role five months ago – knew she was in for the fight.
She was determined to secure Clarkson.
Now, after a decade of the Kangaroos missing out on some of the game’s biggest names, the club has landed AFL coaching’s most in-demand man.
Hood took one of the most welcome phone calls of her professional life from Clarkson’s manager James Henderson at 8.30pm on Thursday night.
“I’ve watched footy for long enough to know you are never confident until the final siren sounds,” Hood said.
“But the (Henderson) call was very welcome when it came.
“I was delighted and relieved.”
Hood refused to be distracted, even when Essendon launched a late, botched and ‘unsavoury’ effort to prise Clarkson away from the Kangaroos just days before a deal looked a formality.
“I am not going to talk about another club,” she said.
“Someone said to me that the problem with having a Plan B is that it distracts you from a Plan A, and we were really focused on Plan A.”
Key North Melbourne people maintain Hood’s “fingerprints” were all over the appointment, saying she worked tirelessly to make it happen.
The Brayshaw brothers – Mark and James – also played their part, helping to open up the avenue of discussion with 54-year-old Clarkson.
Mark is a former Kangaroos teammate of Clarkson’s and a close friend, while James is a former North Melbourne president, who helped to repel an AFL push to send the club to the Gold Coast 15 years ago.
Hood was a key part of that fight as a passionate supporter of the club.
While Mark Brayshaw played down his role, he said Hood’s ability to develop a close rapport with Clarkson had been a telling factor in the former Hawthorn coach choosing the Kangaroos over Essendon.
“It is a great day for the club, but it is also a signature day for our new president,” Mark Brayshaw told the Herald Sun.
“Her fingerprints are all over this. She should be very proud of what she has been able to pull off. She has done the heavy lifting with this. The club is in very good hands.”
James Brayshaw said on Triple M: “Sonja Hood has single-handedly landed the biggest Marlin in the game.”
For Hood, who is CEO of Community Hubs Australia, the end of her month-long mission was more about relief than anything else.
Clarkson will now coach the Kangaroos until the end of the 2027 season. The deal, which could be worth as much as $1.1 million per season, would already appear to be good value-for-money, given the delight of North Melbourne fans and the likely impact it could have on player retention and acquisition.
Clarkson and Hood met on a number of occasions, but it is understood their first meeting a month ago was critical in establishing a connection, particularly around shared values and a belief in how footy clubs can play an important and inclusive role in the community.
The chat was over a few cups of tea at Hood’s house and lasted more than two hours.
“I nearly died when I looked at the clock and realised how long I had been sitting there, because it passed in a couple of minutes,” she said on Triple M.
“We spoke about all kinds of things – his upbringing, my upbringing, formative experiences in his life, different things he had done at Hawthorn, but not specifically about footy.”
Clarkson doesn’t officially start in the role until November 1, but he wasted no time chatting to the players after his press conference.
He spoke of how he could understand some of the frustration players such as No. 1 draft pick Jason Horne-Francis have displayed this year as they are eager to succeed.
He said he hadn’t really spoken to a few assistant coaches who might join him at Arden St.
Onlookers saw one familiar face turn up to the club after the press conference in Todd Viney, who worked under Clarkson at Hawthorn and who is tipped to play a role next year.
Hood has invited Clarkson to the Kangaroos’ final match of 2022 on Saturday – when they take on Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium.
But he is keen to avoid a ‘circus’ and might yet watch it from his farm on the Mornington Peninsula, as he looks forward to 2023.
The AFL loves its theatre, so what are the chances next year’s fixture has a Round 1 clash against Hawthorn – or even Essendon – in store?
Clarko reveals why it was always going to be Roos
Newly installed North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has revealed a mix of sentiment and circumstance convinced him to return home to Arden St after almost 30 years, rejecting a last-ditch approach from Essendon.
In one of the most significant moments in the club’s modern history, Clarkson said “it just feels right” to step back into the club that he left as a player at the end of 1995.
“The Shinboner values have been here forever and a day and those things tear at your heartstrings,” Clarkson said.
“We are all human and feel compelled to be connected to something.”
Clarkson was flanked by North Melbourne president Sonja Hood at the Friday press conference, watched on by the Kangaroos players, as he detailed why he chose the club he played 93 games from 1987-1995.
He expressed relief that “the circus” was over, detailing how Essendon’s approach earlier this week came “far too late” to be seriously considered.
But as “unsavoury” as the situation became in relation to Ben Rutten, he agreed to speak with the Bombers out of the respect for some of the people connected to the club.
“We were so far down the track with North Melbourne and GWS,” he said when asked about the Bombers’ late call.
“The due diligence required to consider coaching a club takes longer than four days for me. I just ran out of time … a different situation and a different set of circumstances (might have produced a different outcome).”
Clarkson met with his family – complete with daughter Stephanie on Zoom from Brisbane – at 7pm on Thursday night to finalise the decision.
He alerted his manager James Henderson, who has played a pivotal role in the discussions, before Henderson alerted Hood at around 8.30pm that he had chosen the Kangaroos.
Clarkson said he remained as hungry as ever to coach a year after his controversial exit at Hawthorn, saying his coaching juices had been reinvigorated when he was embedded with the Golden State Warriors on his US trip earlier this year.
“I came back here so inspired by what (Golden State Warriors coach) Steve (Kerr) was doing,” Clarkson said. “This (coaching) is what I do … that is my DNA.
“Despite my passion for the front of the office (administration) part of the business, it occurred to me that I wanted to be at the coalface of footy.”
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He hasn’t put a ceiling on how quickly the bottom-of-the-table Kangaroos can turn their fortunes around, saying a lot can happen in the space of five years as he experienced at Hawthorn.
“I look at what transpired when I arrived at Hawthorn at the end of 2004,” he said. “My vision was that it would be a six, seven or eight year process to take the team from the bottom rung up to the top. It happened to be four years (when the Hawks won the 2008 flag).”
“Who knows (about what will happen at the Kangaroos). There is no silver bullet.
“I’m not of the view that it is going to be a 10-year turnaround. I am of the view that if we can roll our sleeves up and we can all get on this journey together (that anything can happen).
He said the Kangaroos helped to give him direction and a pathway as a young man in the years following the death of his brother Andrew in a car accident in 1984.
Now he hopes he can repay the faith of those who put their faith in him all those years ago, saying that although the facilities at Arden St had changed immeasurably in the past 30 years, the club’s soul hasn’t.
‘Alastair’s coming home’: Jubilant Roos get their man
Jubilant North Melbourne president Sonja Hood has described Alastair Clarkson’s stunning return home to Arden Street as a “watershed moment” for the Kangaroos.
In a letter to members after the four-time premiership coach chose his former club North Melbourne over Essendon, Hood said the “crash course” in getting to know Clarkson over the past month had convinced her this was a turning point in the club’s proud history.
“I’m delighted to announce that last night Alastair Clarkson agreed to coach the North Melbourne Football Club for the next five seasons, Hood said.
“Our former number 23, Shinboner #781, and four-time premiership coach will lead our talented, young group from 2023 until at least 2027.
“This is a real watershed moment for our club. I am writing to share it with members and supporters first … this is a moment for all of us.
“Today is a good day. Alastair’s coming home. To our home.”
Hood praised Clarkson and his manager James Henderson for their professionalism in dealing with the club, despite a last-ditch, failed effort from the Bombers to steal him away.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the professionalism of Alastair and his manager James Henderson over these past four weeks,” she said.
“We’ve had a crash course in getting to know each other and Alastair’s passion to drive our club back to where we belong is incredibly infectious.
“Alastair officially begins with us on November 1, and I’m looking forward to welcoming him, wife Caryn and children Stephanie, Georgia and Matthew, to the Shinboner family.”
She also praised caretaker coach Leigh Adams for the way he had galvanised the group since the sacking of David Noble.
“I’ve lost count of the number of people who have remarked about how well Leigh has acquitted himself in the top job and we’ve been so blessed to have him. So to Patch, thanks for your hard work and congratulations on a job well done,” she said.
Welcome back Clarko! Pumped about this like all North fans. https://t.co/bBwboAvIvu
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) August 19, 2022
We are all @Sonja_Hood 😌 pic.twitter.com/LERCkll3oc
— North Melbourne FC (@NMFCOfficial) August 19, 2022
NTH improve their record to 4-4 in clashes vs ESS where Alastair Clarkson is involved
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) August 18, 2022
@NMFCOfficial@AFL
Clarkson spurns Bombers, chooses North
Alastair Clarkson has chosen North Melbourne.
Clarkson has agreed to a five-year deal, turning his back on a desperate last-ditch bid by the Bombers.
The four-time premiership coach had a relaxed start to what shapes as a defining day, jogging with his dog, Beaver, along Beach Road.
Incumbent Essendon coach Ben Rutten will lead the Bombers for what shapes as the final time against Richmond on Saturday night.
The architect behind Essendon’s late play for Clarkson, new Bombers president David Barham, will on Friday morning meet with the players before fronting the media.
Rutten’s manager Adam Ramanauskas said the whole episode had been handled poorly.
“I think it’s been really disappointing. You’ve got to look at the human side … the way he’s been treated is fundamentally not right,” Ramanauskas said on RSN radio.
“…. It’s fair to say Monday and half of Tuesday were pretty difficult days because nobody was telling him what was going on. He was calling a lot of people and wasn’t getting much response back.”
Rutten is expected to speak at a press conference today.
Entering today, North Melbourne was still positive about its chances of landing the four-time premiership coach.
While Clarkson yesterday conceded he had to make a decision and soon.
“It’s quite embarrassing to be fair to be quite the central figure in all this,” Clarkson told Channel 10 on Thursday night.
“You know, I’ve got enormous respect for the three guys involved in their clubs, you know Spike McVeigh, Truck Rutten and Patch Adams are all terrific people and they’re trying to do the right things by their clubs.
“In particular with the situation around Truck, you know he’s still got a year of his contract to run and it’s quite embarrassing being the centre of attention in a situation it’s just so difficult for both him and his club.
“I’d prefer to be able to get off the back page and I know full well that this circus will end once I can make a decision one way or another.
“So the sooner I can do that the better.”
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