A furious half-time spray proved the final chapter in Alastair Clarkson’s battle under the weight of the Hawthorn racism investigation and the allegations against him.
Clarkson on Wednesday made the brave decision to indefinitely stand down as North Melbourne coach in an emotional meeting with Kangaroos powerbrokers.
Shocked, but supportive, players were on Thursday morning told that their coach needed to step away to focus on his “physical and emotional wellbeing”.
Good friend and North Melbourne football boss Todd Viney said: “He felt he just couldn’t do it anymore. I want to say how brave it was by Alastair to get to that point.”
Clarkson’s simmering anger reached boiling point at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena last Saturday when his side trailed Port Adelaide by 45 points at half-time. The Power slammed on four goals in the last seven minutes of the second term.
The four-time premiership coach unloaded on his players in a withering half-time spray. Witnesses said that during that outburst a chair was picked up and thrown into a wall.
The outburst is viewed by some at the club as the moment it became clear the decorated senior coach needed to prioritise his health by stepping away from the game.
Some staff at North Melbourne had grown increasingly concerned about Clarkson’s wellbeing.
Clarkson’s half-time spray came after he last week attacked Hawthorn over its “shameful” handling of the investigation – a press conference Viney described as a “window into his mindset”.
“We don’t want him to wear a mask. We don’t want him to be in a poor mental state coming to work. We want him to be fit and healthy,” Viney said.
“I think it’s a really important message to send to our players and our staff and the wider community to make sure that if you’re feeling under pressure mentally, you should be able to speak about it.
“There’s been too many people who haven’t fared well trying to keep it all in house.”
Clarkson, his wife Caryn and manager James Henderson held talks with North Melbourne chiefs on Wednesday. It was in that conversation that Clarkson told president Sonja Hood, CEO Jenn Watt and Viney that he wanted to step down.
“He basically outlined that in the previous eight months of what he’s had to deal with in terms of the Hawthorn investigation and the serious allegations that have been made through that complaint and not having a voice … has really weighed him down in the mental space,” Viney said.
On a sad day for football, Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan and AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan released statements supporting Clarkson.