AFL news 2022: Alastair Clarkson Essendon updates, choice between Bombers and North Melbourne Kangaroos, legacy, trade Luke Hodge

The race for Alastair Clarkson, at least officially, began with the Giants, briefly expanded to three clubs but ultimately has come down to two – which despise each other.

It emerged on Tuesday that Clarkson and the Giants agreed there would be no union between the two parties, with the four-time premiership coach keen to stay in Melbourne and the club reportedly blown away by Demons assistant Adem Yze’s recent presentation.

Clarkson’s call, therefore, has come down to North Melbourne and Essendon.

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The Kangaroos, through president Dr Sonja Hood, have been in talks with the Clarkson camp for around four weeks, leading to the club tabling a five-year offer. Reports last week essentially suggested North had landed its man.

But board upheaval at Essendon on Monday has left current coach Ben Rutten on shaky ground and, subsequently, put Clarkson right in the mix to land at Tullamarine, with the club now in the midst of a bold, dramatic, 11th-hour bid to win the coaching mastermind’s heart. And Clarkson’s manager has told the Bombers his client has interest in coaching them.

Hawks legend Luke Hodge, who played under Clarkson in those four Hawthorn flags, said North Melbourne fans shouldn’t be too alarmed, saying his former coach was just weighing up his options.

Ex-Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge and coach Alastair Clarkson with the 2013, 2014 and 2015 premiership cups. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia

“I’m sitting here saying North Melbourne supporters, don’t be stressed. Just because he’s saying he’d like an interview, this is Clarko doing his due diligence and making sure every stone has been turned to make sure he makes a clear decision and the right decision for him and his family,” Hodge told SEN’s Whateley.

“Just because he’s agreed to meet with Essendon and have a chat doesn’t necessarily mean he’s more in favour to go there than North Melbourne. He’s a person that wants to make sure everything is done correctly with all the information before he makes a pretty big decision.”

The Roos and Dons, who share a bitter history with each other, would present Clarkson with various strengths, challenges and opportunities. These are the pros and cons for both clubs.

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CLUB SIZE, LOYALTY AND ROMANTICISM

After parting ways with Hawthorn and rejecting an approach from the Blues due to family reasons 11 months ago, Clarkson conceded there was a “significant lure” to coach a club like Carlton or Collingwood – who he grew up watching dominate the then-VFL – and rebuild them to powerhouse status.

In that AFL 360 interview, Clarkson said he marvelled at the power and success of clubs like the Blues, Magpies and Bombers during his childhood – and the subsequent appeal of one day taking the reins at one of them.

Essendon, still considered one of ‘the big four’ Melbourne-based clubs alongside the Blues, Magpies and Tigers, would provide him with that opportunity he‘s always dreamt of.

Should Clarkson join the Bombers, he’d be taking over a big club with big resources. The ‘Messiah’ vibe he’d bring to Essendon would surely appeal to both him and the Bombers, too.

However Clarkson wants to return to a club with his own disciples, rather than working exclusively with the personnel already there – as brutal as that sounds. That means Clarkson would want input on positions like assistant coaches, fitness and conditioning staff, list management and, possibly, the chief executive.

Kangaroos issue Clarkson with deadline | 02:40

The sense is the Kangaroos – who have thrown themselves at the feet of Clarkson as it’s clear he’s been their No. 1 target for a month – are more prepared, at this stage, to give Clarkson more control of the club outside of the game plan, with doubts Essendon would be prepared to give him the same luxuries.

Clarkson has always been renowned for his loyalty, typified by his determination to see out his Hawthorn contract last year despite ample internal and external rumblings. So if he’s developed a strong rapport with Hood and the Kangaroos in the past month, it’d be a significant backflip to ditch the Kangaroos – who’ve missed out on players like Dustin Martin, Josh Kelly and Andrew Gaff in the past – and choose the Bombers.

Also remember the Bombers are the “mortal enemy”, as dubbed by AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley, of Hawthorn — and right up until the end of his 17-year tenure, Clarkson was fiercely loyal to the Hawks. The prospect of Clarkson donning an Essendon polo shirt would surely be a painful prospect for Hawthorn supporters. (Although it didn‘t stop Mick Malthouse donning a Carlton polo a few years after leaving Collingwood.)

There’s also the appeal of returning to North Melbourne – the same club Clarkson played 93 games at between 1987 and 1995 – plus the prospect of following in the footsteps of his hero, the late John Kennedy Sr, who had a five-season stint at North Melbourne after coaching Hawthorn to three flags.

Neither club would collapse if Clarkson didn’t choose them, but the question remains: Who needs Clarkson more out of the Bombers and Kangaroos?

Off the field the Kangaroos have made significant strides in recent years under chief executive Ben Amarfio. But with a larger membership base, 16 premiership cups in the trophy cabinet and a history of strong financial results, the Bombers appear better placed to go forth without Clarkson at the helm.

‘A tremendous amount of dignity’ | 03:32

Although, the Bombers have been out of premiership contention and on their knees for longer than the Roos. They haven’t won a final since 2004, whereas the Kangaroos have won five – albeit all those wins came before 2015.

While the Bombers are a big club with underlying institutional strength, Melbourne champion Garry Lyon believes Clarkson is the right man for them right now.

“This is a big, massive football club that have been sitting in the dark for too long and they see Alastair Clarkson,” Lyon told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.

THE PLAYING LISTS

Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 Extra in May, Clarkson cheekily indicated the Kangaroos’ list would be an appealing one to coach, pointing to the talent of top-10 draftees Tarryn Thomas and Luke Davies-Uniacke.

But in the same interview, he also said his prime motivation for returning to the cut-throat coaching world would be the prospect of adding another premiership to the four he’s already won at Hawthorn.

Essendon has a young, developing list — yet one that’s well into its build and journey and one that made finals last year. While the Bombers‘ roster lacks star factor, it’s a list multiple years ahead of the one assembled at North Melbourne, which surely faces another two years of rebuild – at the very least – before a return to finals seems possible.

However Clarkson did tell The Believers: Tasmania‘s AFL Journey podcast this year the premiership journey length “wouldn’t concern me one bit”, as long as he could genuinely see the potential to “chase that piece of silverware” at the club he would join.

Essendon, due to its big-club status, already has a history of luring big-name players to Tullamarine, such as Brendon Goddard, Jake Stringer and Dylan Shiel.

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But Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy last week that a player manager had told him Clarkson would be a persuasive asset for the Kangaroos to attract players from rival clubs because he‘d be able to get “anyone he wants”.

Asked by Ralph if Clarkson’s presence would assist the Kangaroos‘ list management team, triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown told Fox Footy: “Absolutely it’ll help them. It’ll help them retain players – (Jason) Horne-Francis is the one everyone’s talking about, but players in general – and obviously attract players, no doubt about it.

“He’s a super coach, four premierships – clearly that will be a motivation for players.”

EXPECTATIONS AND KPIs

This is where North would have an upper hand, for its expectations – at least in the short-term – would be lower than Essendon’s.

The Kangaroos are on the verge of winning their second consecutive wooden spoon after undertaking a heavy rebuild. So, as Hodge pointed out on SEN, Clarkson would have more time – at least three years – to help the Kangaroos develop and climb up the ladder.

Conversely, Essendon would surely expect Clarkson to lift the team into finals, possibly as early as 2023.

The Bombers sit 15th on the ladder with a 7-14 record with one home and away round to go after sneaking into the 2021 finals series. But last year’s achievement would still be fresh in the mind of the club’s board and fans.

Rutten not safe by any means! | 04:04

Failure to meet the expectations of the Bombers‘ hierarchy, which demand success, has led to two coaches – Matthew Knights and James Hird – being sacked since the Kevin Sheedy era, with Rutten now widely tipped to make it three.

So while the Bombers board upheaval is a result of their desire to get Clarkson, it could also make them a less appealing prospect for him, for wild calls at short notice is a downside of a big club board.

Surely Clarkson would seek some assurances from the club that his authority wouldn’t be diminished if the team can’t flip its fortunes immediately. After all, there’s a lot Clarkson would have to fix, particularly defensively.

While the Bombers have had a trickier draw this year, it’s the way they’ve lost many of their games, punctuated by their lack of defensive accountability, that has left AFL pundits and Dons fans frustrated.

They were thumped by the Cats (66 points), Dockers (48), Swans (58) and Power (84), while losses to the Bulldogs (32) and Giants (27) felt worse than what the final margins reflected. Overall, they’re ranked 16th for points conceded this season and 18th for tackles applied.

“Right now they lack system, they lack motivation and they lack standards as a footy club and I reckon the Essendon faithful are sick of it,” dual premiership Kangaroo David King told Fox Footy’s First Crack.

Hodge reckons standards would quickly shift at Essendon if he landed at Tullamarine.

“I can tell you what, if Clarkson goes into that side they’re going to be defensively minded,” Hodge told SEN’s Whateley.

Alastair Clarkson with three of the fort premiership cups he’s won. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia

“There’s going to be vision on vision on vision on vision all through pre-season of doing the right thing defensively and what the right thing is to do.

“Whether it’s training or a pre-season game, he takes that stuff so seriously and if anyone steps one foot the wrong way in a defensive system, you will be shown it and if you keep doing it you won’t play.”

THE LEGACY

Clarkson’s legacy is already in place after winning four premierships with Hawthorn. But the chance to win a fifth flag at another club is a challenge that undoubtedly “holds some appeal” for him and would elevate him above other coaching greats

“The most significant intrigue for me is: was I just lucky to have that group of people, that group in time, at that particular club?” he said earlier this year.

“The excitement for me is can it be done elsewhere, a different environment, a different group of people and see how we go.”

Leading North Melbourne – a club that hit rock-bottom this year after losing 14 consecutive matches by an average margin of 59.3 points – to a premiership would be seen as arguably his greatest challenge. If he pulled it off, it’d be his greatest achievement.

So too, though, would be leading Essendon to its first flag since Sheedy after nearly two decades without finals success.

There’s ample pros and cons whichever way Clarkson ultimately lands.

But when he makes his call, one thing is for certain: Clarkson will be fiercely loyal to that club and will give everything in his might to claim that fifth premiership cup.