North Melbourne may be one of the AFL’s smaller clubs but they found alignment with the game’s biggest coach in a win for decency over desperation.
The late Thursday phone call to Kangaroos president Sonja Hood that confirmed down-to-earth, frugal North Melbourne had won the signature of the country’s best coach Alastair Clarkson over the all-powerful cash-cow Essendon was met with delight.
listened to what Essendon had to say while knowing in his heart the shambolic, last-minute process was unlikely to win him over. Instead, they had to move to first, second, then third base in a strategic, measured fashion and hope to bring the run home in the nervous moments that occur when the crowd starts roaring and home base is in sight.The first meeting between the four-time premiership coach and Hood occurred at her Bayside home after the Kangaroos board decided to chase Clarkson hard to be their next senior coach when David Noble was sacked in July.
There was also an assessment of the landscape, where difficult conversations might be required, the qualities of people inside the football department and the resources available.Hood worked with members of her executive team, CEO Ben Amarfio and legal counsel James Gallagher, to provide Clarkson’s manager James Henderson with the detail he required to make an informed decision, with Greater Western Sydney engaging in a similar process as they sought a new coach.
Clarkson, although capable of being ruthless, is of a similar mind, knowing he needs strong people around him to curb his excesses, shoot down the worst of his ideas and keep him focused. Clarkson met the Bombers on Tuesday, telling North Melbourne he would do so, before travelling to Adelaide where he sounded out a mentor from Central District, Ken Russell, where his coaching journey begun.
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