AFL news: Carlton among clubs to show interest in securing Brett Ratten in 2023 role
Brett Ratten has been linked with a return to Carlton, which made contract with the former Blues legend shortly after his sacking by St Kilda.
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Carlton reached out to former captain and midfield great Brett Ratten about returning to the club in an off-field role for next season.
News Corp understands the Blues contacted Ratten shortly after his shock sacking from St Kilda last month when the club made the big call to replace him with Ross Lyon.
But Ratten, who led the Blues to a premiership in 1995 as part of a glittering 255-game playing career and coached Carlton from 2007-2012, has put off any decisions about next season.
Ratten, who was axed from St Kilda with two years remaining on his contract, took some time recently to holiday with family in Bali, but is about to reconsider his football future.
Ratten also has strong links with North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson after winning three premierships together at Hawthorn in 2013-15.
The Kangaroos have John Blakey, Leigh Adams and Jordan Russell as part of their assistant coaching staff as well as Gavin Brown and Brent Harvey in development roles.
Ratten would be a huge coup for North Melbourne in a support role for Clarkson, but it remains unclear whether he would be prepared to return to football full-time.
The Kangaroos would also have to fit Ratten into the club’s soft cap which includes Clarkson and new football general manager Todd Viney.
It is understood the Kangaroos are more likely to be able to accommodate Ratten in the soft-cap if he is prepared to work in a part-time capacity given the soft-cap squeeze.
Former Hawthorn ruck coach Damian Monkhorst has also been linked to a possible ruck coaching role at North where he could help guide young talls Tristan Xerri, Callum Coleman-Jones and Jacob Edwards.
Ratten is likely to make a call in coming weeks whether to pursue a return to club land, a role in the AFL media, or to step away from the game.
Ratten was blindsided by his sacking from the Saints after the club agreed to extend his contract mid-season after an 8-3 start to the year.
While Carlton was believed to be interested in Ratten in a potential development coaching role, several clubs have made inquiries about his plans.
The Blues have since appointed Geelong premiership defender Tom Lonergan to the club’s development and talent manager role.
Carlton assistant coaches Aaron Hamill, Tim Clarke and Ash Hansen are locked-in to support senior coach Michael Voss as the Blues attempt to secure their first finals berth in a decade next year.
Ratten, 51, remains highly respected within the industry after leading Carlton to 60 wins from 120 matches and St Kilda to 34 wins from 68 games.
Clarkson and Brisbane senior coach Chris Fagan have said they will take part in the investigation into the treatment of Hawthorn First Nations players while Clarkson was senior coach between 2008-16.
Clarkson and Fagan have vowed to clear their names amid serious allegations of mistreatment.
KEY DEMON’S POST-SEASON SURGERY DELAYS FORWARD PLANS
Melbourne veteran forward Ben Brown may not start full training until after Christmas after undergoing post-season surgery on his knee.
News Corp can reveal the premiership spearhead carried a knee injury in the back-end of the season and required a minor procedure to ease some ongoing knee pain.
The Demons anticipate the 29-year-old will be ready to rejoin his teammates by the start of the new year as the club prepares to unleash Brodie Grundy as part of their new superstar ruck combination.
Grundy, 28, is preparing to complete a full pre-season after missing the bulk of the 2022 season with a serious posterior cruciate ligament injury which also required surgery.
The Demons are confident in what the new ruck pairing will deliver in the engine room and as marking targets as part of a rejigged forward set up.
But Brown will be on light duties for the remainder of the year, opening the door for exciting second-year key forward Jacob Van Rooyen, 18, to eye some early-season opportunity.
Tom McDonald, 30, will also be keen to reclaim his senior spot after an operation to remove a plate and screws in his foot to mend a serious lisfranc injury.
Football manager Alan Richardson said Brown would be better off next season for having the postseason clean-out as the rest of the squad looks to start training on time including former Western Bulldogs’ wingman-forward Lachie Hunter.
“The only one who won’t do (everything before Christmas) is Ben Brown,” Richardson said.
“He probably won’t join in fully until just before Christmas or just after Christmas because he had a bit of a tidy-up on his knee which is good because the surgery needed to happen.
“He will be much better for that but he will take a bit longer than the others (to resume training) but other than that we are pretty good.”
Brown was restricted late in the 2022 season as he booted one goal in the Demons’ pair of finals losses to Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions, sending the club out in straight sets.
He has booted 55 goals from 32 games in red and blue since arriving at the club from North Melbourne in exchange for pick 33.
But Grundy, who Melbourne snared at a significant discount from Collingwood in exchange for pick number 27, is central to the club’s plans to return to the top-four in 2023.
Richardson said Grundy was in great physical shape after missing the bulk of the 2022 season and was ready to begin main training with his new teammates after a shock trade from Collingwood.
“The plan at this stage is he (Grundy) will do everything,” Richardson said.
“He is a very, very good trainer. I would imagine there is every chance we have to protect him from himself a little bit given his attitude to training and his attitude to preparing and Lachie Hunter is the same, because he is an outstanding trainer, too.
“So, to have ‘Gawny’ (Max Gawn) and Brodie in a role where they are able to go flat-out (in the ruck), and then work on their forward craft and develop in that area, it is very exciting.
“And not that ‘Brodes’ is old, but we think it could really allow him to extend how long he is playing, and play dominant footy, too.”
Richardson said the Demons may assess from week-to-week who gets the lion’s share of the ruck minutes, depending on match-ups and in-game trends.
Gawn, 30, finished the season with a sore groin but has returned to full health with some rest over the off-season.
“It could be 50-50 (split) but if one bloke is really on top and the other guy is going OK as a forward, it may be that from week-to-week you just see what happens a bit,” he said.
“We did that a bit with ‘Jacko’ (Luke Jackson) this year.”
Melbourne will take picks 13 and 37 (which it received from Essendon for Sam Weideman) into the national draft on Monday, November 28.
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