Bruce to join Blues as right-hand AFL man

Former Melbourne star Cameron Bruce is the latest graduate from Alastair Clarkson's AFL coaching production line at Hawthorn.

Bruce will reunite with Brendon Bolton, another Clarkson protege, at Carlton.

The Blues have announced that Bruce will become their senior assistant coach under Bolton.

Bolton is among a whopping six current senior coaches who have served as assistants at Hawthorn in the four-premiership Clarkson era.

The others are Western Bulldogs reigning premiership coach Luke Beveridge, Damien Hardwick, Leon Cameron, Chris Fagan and Adam Simpson.

After playing 224 games for Melbourne, Bruce played his last AFL games at Hawthorn and retired in 2012.

He quickly moved into coaching at Hawthorn, first in development and then as an assistant.

"Cameron has impressive credentials and his playing experience and knowledge of the modern game will be a terrific asset for our young playing group," Blues football boss Andrew McKay said.

"As we broaden our coaching panel, Cameron will be working closely with Brendon and our line coaches around strategy and analytics."