Brett Ratten’s caretaker role at North Melbourne a final coaching chance he thought was gone

After being sacked twice as a coach, Brett Ratten is using his third chance at North Melbourne for a very personal reason.

After being ‘cut off at the knees’ when he was sacked by St Kilda, Brett Ratten is using his time in charge of North Melbourne to say a goodbye to senior coaching, adamant Alastair Clarkson is definitely coming back to the job. Picture: Dylan Burns /AFL Photos via Getty Images

After being “cut off at the knees” when he was sacked by St Kilda, Brett Ratten is using his time in charge of North Melbourne to say a goodbye to senior coaching, adamant Alastair Clarkson is definitely coming back to the job.

Since taking over in Round 10, when Clarkson stepped away amid ongoing fallout from the Hawthorn racism scandal, Ratten has taken the Kangaroos close to victory twice, against Sydney and Essendon.

North Melbourne had been belted by a combined 190 points in the three weeks before Ratten was thrust into the hot-seat and many pundits have pointed to renewed vigour and effort from the players.

It’s a mindset which could stem from Ratten’s attitude, with the former Carlton and Saints coach viewing his tenure as a possible last chance – and one that won’t end in the same abrupt, ugly fashion as his previous stints.

“I didn’t sort of get to say goodbye to senior coaching,” he said on Friday.

“You know when you get cut off or are cut off at the knees and then you don’t get that opportunity, this is, for me, sort of a little bit of, ‘I might never coach again’ and this is something that I can sort of … I know it’s coming to an end and I can see it in front of me – I don’t know if it’s this next week or at the end of the year, but at least I just get to sort of say goodbye to it in some capacity.”

Brett Ratten is having his final go at senior coaching. Picture: Michael Willson / AFL Photos via Getty Images

Ratten could shed no light on a possible return for Clarkson, conceding he may not come back this season.

But he was confident the four-time premiership winning coach was coming back.

“What I am sure of, when he’s ready to come back and he’s right to come back, he can come back any time he wants,” Ratten said.

“That’s the big one for all of us – just when he’s right. It could be after the bye, after the home and away.

“He is coming back, but just when he’s right, and we don’t need to lean and put pressure on him in any way, shape or form.

“So I want him to come back when he’s right. Not because he has to join.”

The Kangaroos were buoyed on Friday by gun young forward Nick Larkey signing a five-year contract extension, joining fellow young stars George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel, as well as co-captain Jy Simpkin, in making long-term commitments to the club.

Ratten suggested Larkey was possibly the best pick 73 in the draft ever and a player they could “build around” for the future.

“They’re the great stories in our game, about all the teams overlooking you and then you get your opportunity.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re pick one, 76, or a rookie … all you need is an opportunity to get on a list and play.”

Our No.20 commits for the rest of the 2020s 📝#Kangas

— North Melbourne FC (@NMFCOfficial) June 15, 2023

“We can build the team around him playing as the focal point in our front half, and it just allows us to add to it.

“We don’t have to worry about that piece – that’s done. We can move on to find someone else who can help and improve our footy club.”