Sheahan Ink: Carlton wants Cats’ chief Brian Cook on team, as it hunts for leaks
Carlton’s pursuit of Geelong chief executive Brian Cook could determine whether the Blues can secure in-demand coach Alastair Clarkson.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Carlton’s pursuit of Geelong chief executive Brian Cook could determine whether the Blues can secure in-demand coach Alastair Clarkson.
The Blues are desperate to sign Clarkson for its now vacant coaching role in the wake of David Teague’s termination at the end of the 2021 season.
And Cook could hold the key to the future of the Clarkson and Blues union.
Reports suggest the club is trying to bring Cook on board as an overarching executive. A decision which Cook has delayed at least another week, with the Cats marching in to the preliminary finals.
Despite suggestions as late as Friday ruling Clarkson out, Sheahan Ink believes he is still in communications with Blues bosses about a potential football marriage.
But any signing would come with a few stipulations. As well as the overall contract amount Carlton president Luke Sayers is trying to work out a potential tax break for Clarkson. Changes in administration would also be on the cards if he was to commit.
Sayers is keen on the club doing its due diligence and is talking to senior officials from other clubs with intimate knowledge on current Carlton staff.
Two big plus signs for Clarkson being Blues-bound is that assistant coach Cameron Bruce remains a Carlton employee, as does fitness boss Andrew Russell, who both worked with the coaching legend at Hawthorn.
It’s been suggested a seven-year deal is on the table for Clarkson and if Sayers can pull off the steal of the year, an announcement is forecast for the first week of October.
The football world waits with bated breath.
LEAK HUNT IS ON
Carlton Football Club has been plagued by rumour and innuendo this season, with many in the football world critical of the club’s inner sanctum and some highly sensitive information leaks to the media.
The leaks are as much of a concern for the Blues’ big wigs as their performance on the field.
But the net is closing in on those responsible, with Sayers recently revealing he will personally be investigating the leaks.
“There’s no doubt we’ve had a lot of leaking issues at the club and I’ll be making sure, I’ll be trying as hard as I can, to stamp that out full stop. Across management, across players, across the board, full stop. That’s not high performance,” Sayers told 3AW.
AFL legend and radio commentator Leigh Matthews was horrified at the club’s inability to keep highly sensitive information private, citing a Fox Footy report detailing the board’s division over the appointment of its coach.
“That’s the ultimate dysfunction. It seems like Carlton is leaking like a sieve this year and that is always diabolic for the organisation,” Matthews told Sayers during the interview.
Sayers dismissed the report, saying: “That’s pure fiction, we’ve never had a conversation like that at the board, so again trying to decipher what’s leaked versus what is pure fabrication is, what I am quickly learning, pretty hard in this game.
“There’s definitely 2-3 learnings along the way for all of us on it,” he said in reference to leaks and how to stop them.
Historically, AFL clubs that occupy ladder positions from one to eight tend to keep their dirty laundry inside the football club’s four walls.
Teams nine to 18 tend are more likely to leak thanks to discontent among board members and administration staff, which then affects the playing group.
Can the new Carlton president make good on his predictions to take the Blues to new found success?
DEW SAFE BUT SUNS’ STAFF ON CHOPPING BLOCK
Gold Coast Suns’ coach Stuart Dew is believed to be the only certainty to survive the club’s upheaval, set to begin as early as Monday.
The club will crown its best and fairest on Sunday night before major changes are forecast at the club in coming weeks.
Dew’s assistant coaches have been forced to reapply for their positions and administration staff are also in the dark about their futures.
Football boss Jon Haines farewelled the club this week as GM Football Operations after four years with the Suns. He will head back to Western Australia.
The Suns’ board is expected to move on more personnel as they try to shed a tag of mediocrity that has forced them to defend their position as a Gold Coast entity.
One club powerbroker told Sheahan Ink apart from Dew nobody is safe, with every position being looked at from the top down.
The club is creating a good core group of talented youngsters and wants stability around them to foster a great playing culture.
Touk Miller, Ben King, Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell are high on other clubs’ radars for a potential raid should the Suns spiral backwards.
The Suns and the AFL want to solidify the success of these talented youngsters on the Gold Coast by giving them every opportunity to turn the club’s fortunes around.
FRYDENBERG WANTS GF BACK IN VIC
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is sympathising with fellow Victorians about the grand final being held outside Melbourne for the second consecutive year.
Covid complications will see the premiership decided at Perth’s Optus Stadium on that last Saturday in September, with WA Premier Mark McGowan admitting his state didn’t pay a cent for the privilege.
“It’s a great shame that for the second year the MCG will be empty on grand final day,” Frydenberg told Sheahan Ink.
“Victorians have done it tougher than most during Covid, with the footy season bringing some much needed entertainment and relief.
“As that one day in September is, for Victorians, much more than just a game, let’s hope next year, the grand final can come home to the hallowed turf at the ‘G,” he said.
Frydenberg is a passionate Carlton supporter.
KERR ADMITS PARENT HOME ARSON
West Coast Eagles champion Daniel Kerr faces more time behind bars following Thursday’s guilty plea to an arson attack of his parents’ home.
The 38-year-old was arrested earlier this year for starting the fire at the WA property and has now fronted a Perth court to face the music.
The 220 game football star initially denied involvement but then changed his statement admitting to the charge of criminal damage by fire and will be sentenced on October 29.
WA legal experts predict more time in the slammer for Kerr.
Kerr is the older brother of Australian soccer star Sam Kerr.
BAD HABITS WITH FRIENDS
Nadia Bartel’s nasal nonsense takes us back to the days of another troubled West Coast Eagles legend Ben Cousins, when he was filmed ingesting white powder inside a Surfers Paradise high rise apartment.
Bartel was a victim of stupidity when a friend accidentally uploaded incriminating footage to Instagram displaying a tray of white powder being consumed by the influencer, while Cousins’ was a victim of a venomous friend.
Cousins was partying on the Gold Coast in a high rise with friends when one mate went rogue, tipping off a television network to his whereabouts.
The AFL star was captured by A Current Affair dancing, drinking red wine and inhaling substances off a glass table, which the TV network broadcast back in November 2007.
Cousins’ so called friend was allegedly paid a small five-figure sum to dish the dirt on his mate.
A decision he would later regret, pleading with Cousins’ inked-up mates not to take retribution.
The 2005 Brownlow medallist is overcoming his issues and is now working towards a brighter future, employed by a metals company in Perth.
SHEAHAN’S SECRET SHORTS
The AFL’s vacant head of football operations vacant position is down to two.
Essendon’s Josh Mahoney is one of the hot favourites and has the backing of footy powerbroker Peter Jackson. Former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott is also keen on securing the role.
Scott has been linked to the vacant Carlton coaching position but AFL insiders say he is instead eyeing off the senior position at league headquarters.
Scott, 45, is eager to impress AFL chief Gill McLachlan and assume the position left vacant in July by new Geelong chief Steve Hocking.
COLLINGWOOD GETS ITS MAN
Collingwood announced its new coach Craig McRae on Wednesday, with the Hawthorn assistant winning the highly sought after role from a top quality field.
The Magpies coaching committee, headed up by Paul Licuria, Peter Murphy, Mark Anderson, Graham Wright and Luke Ball decided to give the job to the Alastair Clarkson understudy.
Sheahan Ink revealed back on August 15, McRae was seriously touted as a replacement for Nathan Buckley and had impressed decision makers initially keen on Don Pyke.
Pyke was one of the favourites, Alastair Clarkson was sounded out, Ross Lyon didn’t entertain the role, while Adam Kingsley, Michael Voss, Jaymie Graham and Robert Harvey were all overlooked in favour of McRae, who turns 48 in just over a fortnight.
CRASH ZONE
Channel 9’s chopper didn’t fare well in a tarmac bout with a Bombardier Challenger private jet last week.
But it seems the $5m 10-seater jet may have come off second best.
Essendon Airport turned into a crash zone this week as cranes moved in to transport the damaged plane out of the area while the broadcaster’s helicopter will live to fight another day in the air hovering over Melbourne capturing images for its news services.
Vic Libs in poll position, days after MPs turn on Pesutto
The Victorian Coalition has overtaken Labor for the first time in almost seven years, just days after several Liberal Party MPs detailed plans to roll Opposition Leader John Pesutto.
Costly fallout at top restaurants after boss’ alleged anti-Semitic slur
Big companies have cancelled bookings at a top Melbourne restaurant and a senior chef has quit after the owner was charged with holding up a Nazi swastika sign at a pro-Palestine rally.