North Melbourne has reportedly tabled a “lengthy offer” to mastercoach Alastair Clarkson for 2023 and beyond.
The Age reports a contract of at least five years has been put to Clarkson to join the Roos and take over from caretaker Leigh Adams.
Fox Footy’s Mark Robinson said he believes the Clarkson-Kangaroos deal is “past the post.”
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“Everyone’s a little bit scared to declare it because Alastair Clarkson has got the ability to change his mind and say: ‘I’m not coaching’,” he said on 3AW.
“But the further this goes on, I find that can’t happen.”
Commentator Tim Lane said a deal between Clarkson and North Melbourne would be “exciting”.
“North Melbourne people will be ecstatic by this,” he said on 3AW.
“For them to get Clarkson back to the club, where he began his career, he also won a premiership in 2008 with a team that won before its time and that should never be forgotten.
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“Clarkson’s won four flags – no ones won more since Norm Smith.
“To have him in the firing line and back at that battling club is brilliant.”
North Melbourne and GWS are both vying for four-time premiership coach’s services after he finished up at Hawthorn at the end of 2021.
Both clubs have met with Clarkson in recent weeks, with the Hawks’ mentor set to make a final call before the end of the home and away season.
It is understood the Giants are yet to officially present Clarkson with an offer.
They are reportedly still speaking with other candidates like Adem Yze (Melbourne), Adam Kingsley (Richmond) and their current caretaker Mark McVeigh.
Robinson said he believes Yze is the frontrunner to take the reins at the Giants, while Leigh Matthews said he didn’t think GWS were going as hard as the Roos for Clarkson.
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“North are head hunting Alastair Clarkson,” he said on 3AW.
“I don’t think the Giants are doing that.”
Clarkson has previously said he’d make a call on his future in August, which has just over a fortnight to run.
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the Roos had gone “all in” trying to sign Clarkson earlier this month, and said the club was a “real chance” of landing his signature.
Clarkson’s manager James Henderson told McGuire that the meeting went “very well” and that it was “a worthwhile experience”.
“There is no Plan B (for North) at the moment,” McGuire said at the time.
North parted ways with former coach David Noble a month ago after just 38 games in charge and Leigh Adams has been caretaker in Noble’s absence.
Just last month reports emerged Clarkson was demanding a whopping $1.6 million a season to return to coaching, but he responded to that by calling the figure “bulls**t”.
It’s the message that should be conveyed (and clearly is behind closed doors) despite Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes scrutinizing Collingwood for over celebrating its epic seven-point win over Melbourne last Friday night.
Cornes this week said the Pies went “over the top” and called for them to “keep a lid on it” given it’s only Round 21.
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“I haven’t seen stuff like this for a long time — we’ve all loved what they’ve done but they haven’t achieved anything yet,” the dual All-Australian said on Channel 9’s Footy Classified.
“You don’t see Geelong doing this — it’s like a WWE wrestler. Fremantle has qualified for finals, have you seen them doing that? Have you seen Sydney doing that?
“If I was advising them, I’d say ‘keep a lid on it’, narrow your focus and we’ll judge you when you win in September, not in Round 20. We’ll see how it goes on for the finals — I’ve still got some question marks on them.”
It came after probably the game of the season between Collingwood and Melbourne that went right down to the wire in front of a rowdy packed house of over 70,000 fans at the MCG.
With it the Magpies had knocked over the reigning premiers for a second time in 2022, extended their remarkable winning streak to 11 games and moved into second place—of course continuing their stunning rise from last year’s 17th place finish.
Ash Johnson celebrates after the win (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Factoring in all of the above, wins don’t come much bigger than that.
It set up for the euphoric atmosphere for the black and white post-match. Players, just as they’ve done in several of their previous close wins, immediately huddled in celebration before hugging and high-fiving.
Even coach Craig McRae was sighted on the bench going nuts with players and staff.
The Pies then got around their fans, who were as vocal as you’ll ever hear them throughout the night and jumping for joy on the final siren, embracing with the black and white faithful all around the ground and taking selfies with smiles beaming across their faces.
How could you possibly not live at the moment!?
It was scenes of pure passion and jubilation, and frankly, simple human instinct to react in such a way after yet another epic win — scenes of emotion that make footy what it is. After all, the game isn’t life and death.
You can’t even imagine how players would’ve felt. Going from the feeling of being so hyper focused on the game and questioning, ‘can we do this?’ To then the relief and bliss of, ‘we’ve won our 11th straight, and we’re second.’
And for that one hour after the match they can celebrate and soak up the victory as the pressure valve is momentarily released.
Johnson and McRae embrace (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
“I would like to know what the levels of celebrations actually are. How much are you allowed to celebrate after another win like that?” Dual premiership Kangaroo David King awning foxfooty.com.au.
“The excitement should be shared with the fans, which was how it was done. It wasn’t disrespectful, it wasn’t demeaning in any way.
“They are taking their own on a ride that is so special, why wouldn’t you celebrate like that? Why wouldn’t you embrace what’s happening, as ridiculous as it is.
“And the bottom line is—who cares what people think.”
Footy has changed. Ten years ago there was a vibe in the rooms after wins of players trying to cover up smiles and stay in this overly professional, serious mood and act as if they weren’t happy.
This shift to a more jovial, lighthearted approach was widely said to be key to the Tigers’ resurgence in 2017 (where McRae was an assistant), and the exact same can be said for Collingwood in 2022.
While winning clearly helps, the Magpies simply look like a much happier club — you only need to attend or watch a game or be in the rooms post-match to really feel it — and it’s bizarrely made even Collingwood’s biggest haters warm to it (perhaps some more than others).
McRae’s message all season has been for his troops to stay in the moment week to week and celebrate the good times when they come — and this message has clearly resonated with the group in a breath of fresh air for the competition.
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Whenever the Magpies coach after a win has been quizzed about upcoming clashes, his reply has been consistently along the lines of: ‘We’re enjoying this one for now and we’ll worry about that later.’
“He’s really light hearted and has a lot of fun,” Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury said of McRae on Triple M over the weekend.
“Even (against Melbourne) before the game he said, ‘make sure we go out and enjoy the occasion. Take a look around, take the crowd in. I want you boys to play with freedom and fun, smile, enjoy this.’
“You just feel so comfortable and confident. You can see it with how we play, we’ve got energy and enjoying ourselves — and that’s all off the back of our coaching group and ‘Fly’ (McRae) driving that message home.”
What may be perceived as over celebrating is this very positive energy Pendlebury speaks of and aura galvanizing the group and driving one of the most unprecedented runs in league history. The players are simply living McRae’s mantra and riding the tidal wave of emotion.
No matter how far they go, Pies fans will always remember this winning streak and McRae’s first season at large as a truly special period.
This idea that clubs can only celebrate after finals (or grand finals) is mad. Does that mean of the 400 plus games that are played across the season, only one match is worthwhile celebrating because it ends in silverware? Or players who don’t play in flags shouldn’t cherish special victories along the way? That’s too shallow.
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The same can be said for scrutiny towards North Melbourne after it recorded its second win for the season against Richmond in Round 18. The club had just seen its coach depart amid a particularly tumultuous stretch of its horror season, and against all odds, knocked off one of the league’s powerhouses. Bloody lap it up.
There’s too many lows in footy to not enjoy the highs, and for Collingwood, last Friday night might well be the peak of its season. The odds are that the Pies probably won’t go all the way (not that you’d confidently bet against them right now!) But what may or may not happen in September shouldn’t matter.
Of course, context is everything and there’s a line. Not every win should prompt such a reaction, although it’s fair to say the Pies have played in an unrivaled amount of games that have probably warranted it in 2022.
But after having no crowds for the best part of the last two years and the club enduring a particularly rocky period over that span including the infamous 2020 trade exodus and departures of long-time president Eddie McGuire and coach Nathan Buckley, the players should be allowed to enjoy their unforeseen bounce back.
Although winning a flag is ultimately every club’s goal, there’s no rule that they can’t have fun along the journey.
The ongoing Prison Bar jumper feud has taken a fresh twist, with Collingwood reportedly prepared to offer a teal-coloured alternative to Port Adelaide.
Power president David Koch was fuming earlier this month when he claimed he’d “been played” by the Magpies after the Power’s request to wear their heritage jumper, which features thin black and white stripes in a panel, was again knocked back by the Victorian club.
But the Herald Sun reported on Tuesday night the Pies were prepared to make a minor concession and allow the Power to wear their prison bar jumper once a season … if Port was happy for the white in the panels of the jumper to be replaced by teal stripes.
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Collingwood believes the compromise would allow Port to combine its proud SANFL heritage, which includes 36 SA league premierships, with its 25-year AFL history as teal has featured heavily in many Power jumpers since they entered the competition in 1997.
An agreement was put in place when Port Adelaide entered the AFL that the Prison Bar jumper could only be worn in AFL heritage rounds. But as there’s no longer one dedicated AFL-driven round by the AFL, the Power want to don their Prison Bar guernsey for one Showdown against the Crows per year – a request the Magpies have so far denied.
Connor Rozee wearing the Prison Bar strip at training in 2021. Picture: Dean MartinSource: News Corp Australia
“We always have discussions,” Magpies chief executive Mark Anderson told SEN last month, Port is a great football club and we do have great respect for them, so (we are) always happy to sit down and have a conversation and we have since signing that agreement as well,” he said.
“But as we stand here now, the agreement is the agreement.”
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Koch said earlier this month he was hopeful clubs could move “past these trivial arguments”, saying the club’s request was “logical, harming nobody and promoting the history of Australian football”.
“What we are asking for is entirely reasonable. To wear our iconic Prison Bar Guernsey in Showdowns to celebrate the heritage of Port Adelaide and South Australian football. Not against Collingwood, just two times a year, in Adelaide. I don’t see how it impacts anyone negatively at all,” he said.
Last year, the Power were threatened with the loss of premiership points if they wore the Prison Bar jumper against the AFL’s ruling for a Showdown.
Cheekily, the team waited until post-match to change out of their playing strip to don the heritage jumper.
North Melbourne has gone “all in” on trying to sign Alastair Clarkson as their next senior coach, according to former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire.
Clarkson is currently being courted by both North and Greater Western Sydney, but McGuire believes the Kangaroos are “a real chance” of landing the four-time premiership coach.
North parted ways with former coach David Noble a month ago after just 38 games in charge and Leigh Adams has been caretaker in Noble’s stead.
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“Alastair Clarkson has met with Sonja Hood, the president of the North Melbourne Football Club,” McGuire told Channel 9.
Clarkson’s manager James Henderson told McGuire that the meeting went “very well” and that it was “a worthwhile experience”.
The former Hawthorn coach plans to meet with the Kangaroos again, as well as the Giants, in the coming fortnight.
“North Melbourne have gone all in on Alastair Clarkson, there is no Plan B at the moment,” McGuire said.
“If he doesn’t go (to North) they’ll come up with a Plan B, but they’ve shown that they want him.”
McGuire believes that Clarkson is now seriously contemplating coaching again next year, rather than waiting until 2024 to re-enter the fray.
The Roos are going hard at Clarkson (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
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“His management have said, ‘You know you don’t have to coach next year?’ And I think he’s thought, ‘You know what? I’m a coach, so I’m going to coach’, and North are now a real chance I reckon to maybe land this bloke,” McGuire said.
“But he wants to bring his own team, and I think he’s put his team together and part of his thinking might well be do they all want to live in GWS? Or can we do this at North Melbourne?
“There’s a bit going on in this story but there’s no doubt the list at GWS attracts Alastair Clarkson, but the romance and maybe the practicalities mean that he could well be the coach of North Melbourne.”
North have not interviewed anyone else for their vacant coaching job, according to McGuire.
“Until he says, ‘No,’ Clarkson’s the man,” McGuire said.
Former St Kilda and Fremantle coach Ross Lyon liked the Kangaroos’ “singular focus” in their approach.
“They really need to go all in, it’s a really good sign,” Lyon said.
“If he can bring his key people… those real pillars of success around him, he knows what needs to be done, he knows who to bring.
“It’s a super plan and I think he gets time there. No one expected them to make the eight, they’ve got green shoots, they’ve got a young midfield.
“Fuming” Port Adelaide club president David Koch believes he has “been played” by Collingwood after the Power’s request to wear their heritage prison bar jumper was again knocked back by the Magpies.
Speaking on FIVEaa radio, Koch said Port did “the right thing” and put the jumper request into the AFL back in March to wear for the Round 23 Showdown.
Koch didn’t hold back when asked about claims the Magpies told him Port’s jumper request would be denied back in March.
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“That is the greatest load of rot I’ve ever heard,” Koch said.
“In fact, two weeks ago the Collingwood president Jeff Browne rang me out of the blue and said: ‘Kochie look mate, we’re taking your request really seriously, we understand how important it is to your members, we understand the history of it … I’ve been canvassing opinions both in Melbourne and South Australia and I’m putting it to my board (last week) and I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I’m quietly confident we could have good news for you.’
“So that was just two weeks ago the president of the Collingwood Football Club rang me out of the blue and told me this.”
A Port fan holds up a prison bar jumper sign during the Round 8, 2021 Showdown. Picture: Sarah ReedSource: Getty Images
Koch claimed the club had been taken advantage of by Collingwood as debate continues to rage over whether the Power should be allowed to wear their heritage prison bar strip.
“Remember Collingwood have always said: ‘We own black and white in the AFL/VFL. They are our colours’ – as if you can own two colours. Don’t get me started on that,” he said.
“On the weekend, Collingwood VFL played the Southport Sharks in the VFL who are black and white. So why can’t we play in our traditional prison bar guernsey, Showdown in Adelaide, that’s all. Not against Collingwood. Not for the rest of the year. I don’t think it’s unreasonable.
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“I can’t help but feel that we’ve been played in this for being nice and a bit mislead by the club and also conversations I’ve had with the president.
“It just shows, dare I say, the pettiness of this which has got completely out of hand. I don’t know whether it’s a case of the big Victorian clubs once again going: ‘Hey, you just keep in your place you interstates, South Australian clubs. We run this competition, you do as we say.’”
An agreement was put in place when Port Adelaide entered the competition in 1997 that the prison bar jumper was only to be worn in the AFL’s Heritage round.
But there is no longer one dedicated round by the AFL, with clubs opting to do their own heritage celebrations each year.
“Yes, an agreement was signed when we came into the AFL – that’s 30 years ago. Times have changed and clubs are celebrating their heritage,” Koch said.
Port Adelaide Power press conference | 05:23
“Why can’t we declare a Showdown as celebrating our heritage?
“I’m fuming because we have done the right thing, we’ve just quietly gone about it, and I can’t help feel as though that good nature has been played.
“You look at virtually every AFL club being allowed to play in their heritage guernsey this year … but we’re not allowed to do the same.”
Koch later added in a statement: “Surely we’re past these trivial arguments and acknowledge this is one of these things where it’s time for change and we progress the game, as a truly national competition which acknowledges the rich heritage we all bring.
“We’re not asking to wear it every week, it’s for Showdowns, in Adelaide, to celebrate the rich heritage of Port Adelaide and of South Australian football. It just feels logical, harming no body and promoting the history of Australian football.
“At a time when the number 1 issue in the game is fan engagement and attendance, it’s such an easy solution.
“What we are asking for is entirely reasonable. To wear our iconic Prison Bar Guernsey in Showdowns to celebrate the heritage of Port Adelaide and South Australian football. Not against Collingwood, just two times a year, in Adelaide. I don’t see how it impacts anyone negatively at all.”
Last year, the Power were threatened with the loss of premiership points if they wore the prison bar jumper for the Showdown, against the AFL’s ruling.
So the team waited until post-match to change out of their playing strip and into the prison bar Guernsey.
