Fans lose it over Alastair Clarkson’s Swans scarf as Buddy boots his 1000th goal
Former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson was at the SCG on Friday night and fans couldn’t get over what he was wearing.
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Former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson made an appearance to watch Buddy Franklin’s 1000th goal but fans couldn’t help themselves when he was spotted wearing a Swans scarf.
Franklin completed his chase to become the sixth player to kick 1000 majors after booting four in the 17.5 (107) to 10.17 (77) win over Geelong on Friday night, sparking pandemonium as fans flooded the SCG.
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Safe and comfortable in his corporate box, Clarkson was beaming as Franklin joined the AFL’s most exclusive club.
Clarkson began coaching the Hawks in 2005, handing Franklin his debut for the club in round one of that season.
Franklin booted 580 goals in his 182 games and won two premierships for the Hawks before joining the Swans in 2014.
Clarkson won four premierships while at the Hawthorn, including defeating Franklin’s Swans in the 2014 grand final, and coached until last year when he finally ended his 17-year tenure with the club
Speculation has grown about Clarkson returning to coaching in 2023 and he has even been linked with a move to a new Tasmanian franchise if it’s given the green light by the AFL.
But while the footy world is used to seeing him in the brown and gold of Hawthorn, the AFL was not ready to see him with a red and white Swans scarf around his neck.
Jack Hudson tweeted: “Clarko wearing a Swans scarf feels unnatural.”
Comedian Lehmo joked: “I must be concussed … I just thought I saw Clarko in a Swans scarf!”
Sports reporter Melanie Dinjaski added: “I think we can all agree the worst part of that were the shots of Alastair Clarkson in a Swans scarf. I’m a Swans fan and thought that was weird, imagine how Hawks fans would’ve felt!”
Triple M Footy even added: “Clarko is back on the Buddy bandwagon at the SCG”.
PointsBet were also stunned: “ALISTAIR CLARKSON WEARING A SYDNEY SCARF! Just when you thought this world couldn’t get any weirder.”
Happy Clarko #Buddy1000pic.twitter.com/eVNItp3nKK
— 7AFL (@7AFL) March 25, 2022
Clarko telling us where he’ll coach next year… #AFLSwansCats#Buddy1000pic.twitter.com/g5xhX8xxK4
— Andrew McCormack (@_AMcCormack7) March 25, 2022
Adjusted my TV settings and you wouldn't believe what scarf Clarko's actually wearing #AFLSwansCats#Buddy1000pic.twitter.com/KTi0RsjOke
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshMedia) March 25, 2022
At halftime, Clarkson was part of a video package and revealed his recollection of Franklin joining Hawthorn.
“It was a really interesting draft. As a footy club we knew we wanted to load up the stocks in terms of tall players,” he said. “We drafted Roughy (Jarryd Roughead) at pick two knowing Bud would be there at pick five for us. He was pretty raw. As all 17, 18-year-olds are when they first come to the football club but he could run.
“It was probably a game against Richmond down at Launceston. That was the day I thought anything could happen with this lad in this game.
“Kicking 1000 goals. It hasn’t been done since. That tells you the monumental effort it was.”
Leaving Hawthorn was a big part of the pair’s story together and Clarkson said he understood why Franklin may have wanted to get out of the AFL fishbowl of Melbourne.
“It was a tough period of time for everyone involved,” Clarkson said of the move. “Part of me had this enormous empathy for him given the challenge he had to confront.
“This mega star in such a market like Melbourne, so I could understand why he wanted to move to another State to play his footy. In some ways, delighted that he chose Sydney under a great mate of mine in Longmire.”
Originally published as Fans lose it over Alastair Clarkson’s Swans scarf as Buddy boots his 1000th goal
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