Mark Robinson: Why a new Tasmanian team needs Clarkson as inaugural coach

Much has been said about a new stadium to house a Hobart based team. But, as Mark Robinson writes, there’s a far more important piece that needs to be locked in to the Tassie puzzle.

Alastair Clarkson’s next stop should be as coach of Tasmania. Picture: AAP Image

Maybe, Tasmania is Alastair Clarkson’s destiny all along.

Maybe, his vision to win a fifth premiership to accompany his four at Hawthorn — starting at another club in 2023 — is not the vision that Australian rules football has earmarked for him.

Maybe, Clarkson’s vision needs to be greater than a fifth flag.

There’s hurdles confronting the birth of the Tasmanian football team, not least being the building of a brand-spanking new stadium in the heart of Hobart, which AFL boss Gillon McLachlan put on the agenda on Thursday.

The stadium announcement fuelled the doomsayers who probably believe the 19th license in one of footy’s heartlands is now kaput.

But those people shouldn’t fret too much.

There’s too many good people with vision who want to see a Tasmanian team and if push comes to shove, you’d bet one of those people is McLachlan.

Yes, the deal has to be right and owned by the industry, and the commercialism and governance needs to work and be sustainable, but if the discussion starts at why this should happen instead of why it shouldn’t, the economics is secondary to the debate.

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Alastair Clarkson should be the man to lead a new Tasmanian team. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Let’s start with yes and work back from there.

Again, it needs people with vision.

Which brings us Clarkson.

He is a force of nature and this Tasmania venture needs exactly that.

So, when the 19th team is a goer, which it hopefully is by the end of August, McLachlan’s first call has to be to the legendary coach.

We know Clarkson can build a team to win flags.

What about building a club from its foundations?

The prospect of Clarkson immediately being appointed president of football operations and in 2025 becoming the inaugural coach of the Tasmanian team, is a vision McLachlan cannot ignore.

Clarkson already is a key and enthusiastic player in the Tasmanian task force and convincing Clarkson to put his heart and mind to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — for the good of the game — could be McLachlan’s pièce de résistance in his final months in office.

As part of his contribution to Tassie, Clarkson has spent time in the US with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, who he believes have similarities to the proposed Tassie club.

Green Bay is a town of about 100,000 people in Wisconsin, yet is an American sports juggernaut.

“You wouldn’t believe the synergies between the whole culture of that area in Wisconsin, and Green Bay, it’s just so similar,” Clarkson told AFL360 on May 13.

Gillon McLachlan has put key details about the Tassie push on the agenda. Picture: David Crosling

“They’ve got a little bit more snow than Tassie’s got, but the culture of the people, they’re blue collar, they’re passionate for their sport, particularly football.’’

His ownership model was also first revealed on Fox Footy.

“They’ve got an ownership model, or an owner’s equity model, that sits very, very comfortably with what we want to do down in Tasmania as well,’’ Clarkson said.

The Tasmanian at Tigerland, Jack Riewoldt, is brimming with hope about the prospect of Clarkson becoming the team’s first coach.

“That would be great,’’ Riewoldt said.

“I can envisage it because Clarko speaks passionately about Tasmania and he clearly believes in the state and its push for a team.

“That belief and sense of belonging is why he would be a great candidate to do it.

“Even before he would get to the coaching role, just his acumen and his story. His passion and his belief is the first thing that draws Tasmanians like me to him.’’

Despite the obvious hurdles — which range from seeking funding to building the stadium to the 18 club presidents voting thumbs up or thumbs down like a group of empowered Caesars — the Tassie team is more likely a goer than not.

Because it’s unthinkable that so much time, resources and passion can be put into a dream, only for those presidents to tear it down because of money.

Certainly, money didn’t kill the AFL’s dream of putting teams into western Sydney and on the Gold Coast.

Alastair Clarkson knows how to run a successful club. Picture: Cath Piltz

And what’s the cost been for those two teams now? Comfortably north of half a billion dollars.

The AFL would argue those two clubs are investments into the future of the sport.

You could easily argue the same with Tasmania.

Because sport is about people and the Tasmanian people deserve that investment.

Forever, Darrel ‘Doc’ Baldock will be the Godfather of Tasmanian football. That’s how it is.

However, Clarkson could become Tassie’s modern-day Godfather.

His role would focus on building a football club and its DNA, not dissimilar to what Kevin Sheedy instilled in the young Giants when he was appointed coach of the expansion team in 2009.

Clarkson’s contribution would be even greater.

Yes, it would be about the DNA and going back to the origins of convict settlement, but immediate challenges would be about talent identification and pathways, big-name signings, the high performance set-up and, most importantly, doing it with the thread of community throughout.

“It needs someone who is forward thinking,’’ Riewoldt said.

“They’ve got to be thinking about grassroots footy, thinking about the talent pool, you’re going to have access to players for the first draft, what sort of input can you have now on kids who will be drafted for 2025 or 2026, can you go to underage combines, look at kids you have earmarked from others states that you might pick up?

“In building a club, Scott Roth, the coach of the JackJumpers in the NBL, is the blueprint for what to do.

JackJumpers coach Scott Roth in the Tassie community. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“And that’s go around and find out the DNA of Tasmania and Tasmania’s history and start to piece together the story of Tasmanian football, Tasmanian culture and build our club around that, the people.

“Do your research about Doc, visit his family, visit local football clubs, because all the answers are in the people. They know what they want to be represented by.

“There’s a whole host of things to be done and it’s not the job of one person.’’

That Tassie build needs to follow the Giants’ blueprint and not the Suns.

The Giants signed footy veterans including Sheedy, Mark Williams, Graeme ‘Gubby’ Allan, Steve Silvagni, Alan McConnell and, after 12 months, David Matthews from the AFL.

In contrast, the Suns were all first-timers. Travis Auld was a first-time CEO, same with coach Guy McKenna, same with president John Witheriff and same with head of football Marcus Ashcroft.

It might be wishful thinking, but the Tassie team could comprise Clarkson as coach, maybe Brendon Gale as CEO if he’s not the AFL CEO, maybe Tom Harley as CEO if he’s not the AFL CEO — and Harley’s been linked to the role soon to be vacated by McLachlan — maybe Chris Fagan as head of coaching if he’s done at Brisbane, and maybe Brendon Bolton for head of development.

Tasmanian Scott Clayton and Silvagni could be the list manager and head of recruiting.

And former premier Peter Gutwein would be ideal as the first chairman of the club.

The point is, aim high and achieve high.

That’s what McLachlan did on Thursday when he said a new stadium was paramount. He didn’t put up a hurdle, he put up a vision.

His next move is to do the same to Clarkson — and not let the Godfather say no.

Originally published as Mark Robinson: Why a new Tasmanian team needs Clarkson as inaugural coach