Geelong midfielder Patrick Dangerfield says outgoing Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson was like an “extra player on the field”.
The Brownlow medallist, who spent time with the Hawks mastermind on the 2015 International Rules tour, was unsurprised the Cats’ great rivals struggled to navigate a planned handover.
On July 6 Hawthorn announced Clarkson would make way for Sam Mitchell at the end of next season; on July 23, the incumbent emphatically rejected reports he would step aside sooner.
Just seven days later, the duo fronted the press to announce the final four matches of the season would be Clarkson’s last.
“It’s been quite surreal,” Dangerfield told SEN’s Whateley.
“I think in situations like these you always look back on your own personal experiences.
“In my time in Adelaide, there was a slightly different arrangement with Neil Craig. The idea was that he would go on staff, (after) his time as senior coach.
“It’s really difficult to navigate, quite clearly, because there’s plenty of teams who have had a go at it and it just hasn't quite worked out.
“Quite clearly Hawthorn have identified that Sam was their man to go forward beyond this, but Clarko has been such an incredible coach.
“It’s nice that he’s not coaching as an opposition player, because he’s like an extra player on the field for Hawthorn.”
Dangerfield explained that Geelong is a collaborative coaching environment, but the hierarchy is clearly communicated.
“There’s no doubt alignment is important, as is a robust coaching group where they challenge each other to get the best result for the team,” he went on.
“That is the balance, because you do want to be challenged. Our coaches certainly do, I know Chris (Scott) does.
“(But) at the end of the day, there has to be one voice. As much as it is a democracy, there is one voice that sits above the others and that’s the senior coach with the final call.”
Dangerfield, who has played under six senior coaches - four of them permanent - says the structure of such a democracy depends on the tacticians’ personalities and skillsets.
“It’s horses for courses and there’s different organisations that run things differently. Every coach has their strengths and weaknesses,” he detailed.
“Where their strengths are you play to that, where their weaknesses are you have assistant coaches.”
Last Friday, Clarkson told reporters he had feared he would not be able to control the environment at Hawthorn with the handover looming.
“I’m of the firm belief only one coach can steer the direction of a club and its playing group,” he declared.
With the re-seeding of the list underway at Hawthorn, having a single voice may be essential in providing a younger playing group with instructional clarity.
“Every player will have a different view on whether they want the dictator or something more collaborative,” Dangerfield related.
“Players will all have different views. Some will deal well with… not mixed messaging, but different messaging around the best path forward.
“There’ll be some that find it difficult to navigate. And that’s where having a mature playing group is also important.”