AFL Daily: Alastair Clarkson won't promise Jarryd Roughead farewell game, rolling footy news for Thursday August 8, 2019
Will Hawthorn fans get the chance to say goodbye to one of their favourite sons before he retires? Coach Alastair Clarkson says the decision is more complicated than you think.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says he won’t be “swayed by sentiment” when it comes to making the call on whether Jarryd Roughead is granted a farewell match.
Clarkson said today he was not opposed to a farewell game for the four-time premiership star, but the decision would be made with the best interests of the club in mind.
With interstate games tomorrow night and in the final round, the Round 22 clash against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium is likely to be the last chance for Hawks’ fans to celebrate the career of former captain Roughead at home in what is expected to be his final AFL season.
Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton last week declared he wanted the chance to play alongside 32-year-old Roughead again — and suggested the leadership group might be knocking on Clarkson’s door to make sure it happens.
But Clarkson remained hesitant to a commit to a send-off for the club veteran.
“Last week we went into the game thinking, ‘It’s only a couple more games for (Grant) Birchall to play his 250th’ then he gets hurt and it doesn’t happen,” Clarkson said.
“We’d like to think ‘Roughy’ will play again for us, but whether that’s next week or not, we’d just have to wait and see.
“Things happen in games of footy that send you down a different direction and I would hate to make a commitment to all and sundry that’s going to happen and then it doesn’t.
“We’ll wait and see what happens next week. We are not opposed to it, nor are we making a declaration right now that’s it’s going to happen, either.”
Clarkson acknowledged there was a place for sentiment in the game, but stressed it would be a club-first decision.
“There is a romantic side of footy ... but we have got to factor in a whole number of factors including what is the future of the footy club and is he taking some young fellas’ spot,” Clarkson said.
“We’ll sit down when we’ve got all the information in front of us and make a decision that’s best for the footy club.
“We won’t be swayed by overall sentiment just because players or Roughy or a board member would like to see it happen. We’ll get all the information and make a decision that’s best for the footy club.”
Roughead has played seven senior games this season — his last appearance being in Round 14 against Sydney.
A two-time All-Australian, Roughead has played 282 games for the Hawks after making his debut in 2005 and has been the club’s leading goalkicker three times.
Clarkson conceded veteran defender Birchall was set to miss the rest of the season after he hurt his hamstring last week.
When probed about Birchall’s future, Clarkson said any decisions on individual players’ future would be made with the balance of the team list in mind.
“We take in a whole heap of factors about the individual, of course, but it’s more about how many half-back flankers have we got, who is coming through for us and how many draft picks do we want at the end of the year, what are we able to secure in trade?
“None of that stuff happens until we have reviewed our whole season, we’ve done a total review of all our players medically and we’ve sat down with the players.
“We’re not going to make any declarations on any players until two or three weeks after we’ve played our last game.”
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Originally published as AFL Daily: Alastair Clarkson won't promise Jarryd Roughead farewell game, rolling footy news for Thursday August 8, 2019