Rival whacks Roos for ‘savage’ Clarkson comments as fresh details aired
Fresh details have been revealed about Alastair Clarkson’s sacking from North Melbourne with “confusing and bewildering player exit meetings” reportedly a point of frustration.
Clarkson was sacked by the Kangaroos last week which was followed by a stinging press conference from North Melbourne bosses Todd Viney and Sonja Hood.
Sacked North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson. Getty Images
Viney said players had become “confused” by Clarkson’s messaging and that his game plan needed to improve.
Hood had added the Kangaroos needed a coach “that can coach for the modern game”.
Clarkson took umbrage with the criticism and told The Age “I feel like my life’s shot”.
On Nine’s Footy Classified, reporter Damian Barrett provided further explanation around the decision to sack Clarkson.
“There was an accumulation of annoyances, a refusal to listen, refusal to change his ways, there’s been numerous requests for Alastair to change the way he’s been conducting business,” Barrett said.
“There was a series of confusing and bewildering player exit meetings where players were left unknown as to what he was thinking about them, and even he was unsure of the contract status of some of the players he was talking to.”
Barrett added Clarkson’s exit meetings could have been a deliberate tactic to keep players on edge.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Monday night, experienced Geelong coach Chris Scott joined those taking a swipe at the Kangaroos, saying Viney and Hood had “aired all the dirty laundry publicly”.
“I think all coaches everywhere would say, if you treat Alastair Clarkson like that, what hope is there for the rest of us?” Scott said.
“I’d like to think when my time is over, they’ll keep the really savage criticism to a private conversation.”
North Melbourne will now form a committee to select the next coach.
Matthew Lloyd believes the quality on North Melbourne’s list means the club will be looking for a new coach bounce similar to Steven King at Melbourne.
“Normally coaches have a bit of a honeymoon period, but I don’t know about this one, because of where the club is at,” he said.
“For this coach that’s taking over, I wonder were these players precious? Did these players not like being coached?
“I just think the pressure on this new first time coach will be on from day one.”
Nick Larkey of the Kangaroos looks dejected after a loss. Getty
Lloyd then put the heat on the players, with the men’s side not playing finals since 2016.
“At the moment it’s all about what Alastair did wrong, ‘Alastair did this, he did that, he’s not up with the modern game’,” he said.
“Now they get their modern coach that comes in, let’s see what these players stand for, who have underachieved and haven’t performed for too long at North Melbourne.”
Jimmy Bartel also implored the club to make the most of its crisis.
“I hope North Melbourne are taking stock now of what they can do better as a football club ... hopefully they take this opportunity to review their whole entire football department from someone external,” he said.
The Kangaroos won nine games this season and finished 14th on the ladder.
