Brett Ratten has been praised for refusing to sink the boots into St Kilda in the months since his shock exit from the club.
Ratten’s axing in October came out of the blue as a recommendation from the club’s review which was commissioned by president Andrew Bassat. It was reported that Ratten was engaging with draft prospects less than a week before his dismissal and the club is also understood to have made the former coach beg for his job over the course of a day.
To add insult to injury, when announcing Ratten’s departure Bassat also conceded the coach wasn’t afforded the best chance given the club’s systems and structures.
But despite all this, Ratten has laid low and on Thursday signed with North Melbourne as a part-time assistant coach.
“(He’s been) incredibly dignified, hasn’t he?” Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“There’s a couple of people who have really impressed me in football over the last two or three months, one being Brett Ratten.
“He hasn’t said anything. I’ve got no criticism over Justin Langer for him airing his frustrations, but for Brett to be as tight-lipped as he has, he would have had every media outlet – including us – hounding him for an interview.”
The club’s review, which ultimately culminated in Ratten’s job, found there were “significant issues” in the coaching program. It also stated the Saints lacked a culture of debate, which came after previous suggestions throughout the year that players failed to call each other out during the season.
“(So) Brett Ratten is a star. The review from St Kilda was vague, I reckon internally it was a little bit scathing on Brett, reading between the lines, in certainly the gameplan they implemented and the way the players were prepared to play that and also the communication between all areas of the football department,” Cornes continued.
“It was pretty scathing on Brett but it was vague in a way, so I think he’s been really dignified in his exit and I’m glad he’s going to join up with Clarko (Alastair Clarkson) at North.”
Ratten previously worked under Clarkson for six years at Hawthorn and has assumed a matchday role with the Roos for 2023 that will also see him at the club during the week.