Will Alastair Clarkson coach again in 2023?
Clarkson’s name has been thrust into the spotlight following Leon Cameron’s resignation as GWS coach last week, with the Giants expected to now target the former Hawthorn mentor.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd has warned clubs that appointing the four-time premiership coach could take up a significant portion of the soft cap, potentially leading to the loss of assistant coaches.
The soft cap was slashed from $9.7 million in 2019 to $6.7 million since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to shut down for three months in 2020.
“I spoke about this over the weekend,” Lloyd told Sportsday.
“Any club who takes on ‘Clarko’ (Clarkson) has to be careful of what you’re going to lose with the soft cap. How many coaches you lose when you appoint Alastair Clarkson.
“I’d appoint Clarkson if I feel you’re going to be a top four side relatively quickly or straight away.
“I heard a comment Craig McRae made. He said, ‘When I coached with Clarkson at Hawthorn, I did a lot of work because we didn’t have many coaches. I go to Collingwood; I’ve got that many coaches because of the wage I’m on as the senior coach’.
“That’s what every club has to think about when they take him on, how much of the soft cap he’s going to take up with the wage he’d be on.”
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Could Clarkson turn GWS into a premiership contender with their current list?
“I think their best 10 is really good, but their depth is as poor as other teams. I think their bottom end is pretty average,” Lloyd said of the Giants.
“He could really catapult them up for a period, not to win a premiership, I don’t think they’ve got the list to win a premiership.
“But you get (Toby) Greene, (Josh) Kelly, (Lachie) Whitfield, (Nick) Haynes, (Stephen) Coniglio, (Harry) Himmelberg, (Tim) Taranto, Tom Green. The list goes on and on.
“It would be a good job to get.”
After making the second week of the finals last year, the Giants find themselves in 15th spot on the ladder with a 2-7 win-loss record.
GWS lost to Carlton by 30 points in Cameron’s final game in charge.