Alastair Clarkson opens up on his busy schedule for next year

Coaching great Alastair Clarkson has revealed his to-do list for the next 12 months and how Jeff Kennett “fast tracked” some of his plans.

Four time premiership winning coach Alastair Clarkson has spoken of his life after football revealing one of his new responsibilities is to put the rubbish out on bin night.

Clarkson, one of the most revered and innovative figures in the AFL, confirmed in July he would exit Hawthorn at the end of the 2021 season following the awkward implementation by the club of a coaching succession plan with Sam Mitchell.

It has been widely rumoured that Clarkson will be paid the remaining $900,000 on his contract with Hawthorn and despite lucrative interest from a number of clubs he has chosen to take a break from footy in 2022.

However, thanks to his wife, Caryn, he won’t be idle.

Walking off the MCG in his final game as Hawthorn coach.

Household chores, handyman jobs around the home, possible travel, study, and even a stint living overseas are on the agenda.

“I have a list on the fridge over here and am just slowly checking them off and we have a little farm down on the Mornington Peninsula that keeps us busy, but we are not getting there as often as we would like at the present time because of Covid and lockdown,” Clarkson told ABC Radio Melbourne’s Libbi Gorr on Saturday.

“He ticked off one of my things on that list. That was to put the rubbish out on Monday night,” Caryn chipped in.

“That is part of my routine, but there is another list on the fridge that are all little to do things that have not been done for a fair while, so I must get around to doing those things,” Clarkson clarified.

Clarkson finished as Hawthorn coach at the end of the 2021 season. Picture: Michael Klein

“I know we are going to invest a bit of time in family and friends and a little bit of study if I get the chance to do that, and I would not mind doing something where I can contribute back to the game.”

Clarkson said he had planned to reassess his life at the end of 2022 but the timeline was unexpectedly brought forward by Hawthorn’s succession planning moves.

“The last of our three (children), Matthew, is doing Year 12 next year so we geared our coaching contract at Hawthorn to be at the end of Matthew’s secondary schooling with the view that at the end of next year we are going to explore what we do, whether it was to stay in coaching or step out for a while,” he said.

“That was just fast tracked a little bit by Jeffrey Gibb Kennett this year.

“But we are ready to have a look at what our lives might entail post 2022 and that obviously involves family and it might be in Victoria or out of Victoria, it might be in Australia or out of Australia.

Clarkson with Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett. Picture: Michael Klein

“We have spoken about wanting to live in the northern hemisphere for a period of time and were excited to get the opportunity to do that, but when that is we’re just not too sure.

“That will depend on our children. Right at the present time our kids are at an age, you know we haven’t got grandchildren, so there might be just this window in the next five or six years where we might be able to do a bit of travel and see the world.”

He said his choice to turn down approaches from clubs such as Carlton and Collingwood was based on a need to have a break.

“A really good friend said to me one of the most difficult answers to a question that you can give is no and it is difficult to say no sometimes, but in this particular instance I’d been going flat out for 17 years in AFL coaching, and to be fair I have been involved in professional AFL footy for 35 years as a player and coach and have gone flat out in overdrive in all that time, so it’s a pretty welcome opportunity to take a breath for 12 months and see where it takes you at the end of 2022.”