Matthew Clarke hopes to extend his role as coach of the Crows’ AFLW team beyond his existing two-year deal
It is an unpredictable time as the football industry deals with the coronavirus crisis, but Crows AFLW coach Matthew Clarke says he’d like to extend his role into the future.
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Despite the current uncertainty swirling around the AFL football industry, Crows AFLW coach Matthew “Doc” Clarke would like to extend his tenure in charge of the club’s women’s team.
But he concedes it could be many months before a decision is made on the 2021 season and what role he will play in it.
In 2018, Clarke – who is also ruck coach of Adelaide’s men’s team – was handed a two-year deal to coach the women’s side after the departure of inaugural coach Bec Goddard.
Those two seasons saw him storm to premiership glory in his first year in 2019, but fail to coach the team to finals in 2020 with the season abruptly ended amid coronavirus chaos with Adelaide sitting on a disappointing 2-4 win-loss record.
Clarke said he had enjoyed his two years as senior coach tremendously.
“Obviously, it’s a fairly tumultuous time, so we’ll have to sit down – post-conoravirus – and see what the landscape is,” he said.
“It’s been enormously enjoyable, even in this season which hasn’t gone to plan.
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“I’ve got enormous enjoyment out of it, working with high-quality people and all things being equal, I would prefer not to end on the note that we have ended (this year).
“But it is a fairly unique set of circumstances whereby I think there’s a fair bit of water to go under the bridge before we get back and realise what the competition structure will look like for next year.
“Hopefully all that will wash through in the next six months and we’ll be in a place to go again.”
Clarke said one of the most enjoyable aspects of coaching the team was how much the players had stuck together in what was a challenging 2020 season, which included co-captain Chelsea Randall tearing her ACL on day one of pre-season back in November.
“The group did stay really well-connected and there wasn’t a sense of abandonment of team philosophies, particularly off the field … their application at training, and the way they stayed connected to one another, was pleasing,” he said.