Kane Cornes believes North Melbourne will be in a tough spot to retain highly talented players due to the current turmoil surrounding the club.
Cornes’ call comes after Alastair Clarkson stepped away from the club on Thursday to deal with mental health issues that emerged amid the ongoing Hawthorn racism investigation.
On top of Clarkson’s personal issues, the Kangaroos sit 16th with a 2-7 record after finishing last in both 2021 and 2022.
Cornes says that if he was a player at Arden Street, he’d be thinking about departing as issues at the club continue to stack up.
“Some of it is through no fault of their own,” Cornes said on SEN Sportsday.
“A lot of people are texting through about the article I've written in The Age and a lot of people commenting on social media about this as well.
“Clearly as I've written, everyone's thoughts are with Clarkson and his well-being and our thoughts are with him and we hope he is ok, but footy moves on.
“If you're a player who has sat through exactly what you've just described (Clarkson’s half-time spray) there, those are five or six things that happen maybe throughout the course of your career, you might go through one or two, these players are going through it in a short space of time.
“Some of these players have had four coaches (David Noble, Leigh Adams, Clarkson and now Brett Ratten) in 16 games.
“I'd be thinking about getting out of the joint, I really would, and I know people say that's premature.”
While some may call Cornes’ call premature given Clarkson only stepped away from the club on Thursday, the Port Adelaide great believes it’s a genuine concern for the club as players at other AFL clubs thrive in different environments.
“People say, ‘How can you say that?’, but it's a thought I've had for a while,” Cornes said.
“Compare what Harry Sheezel is going through to what Nick Daicos or Will Ashcroft is going through with the environments that they are put in.
“It is not fair, and if you're a parent of these players who you thought Clarkson was going to be the one to guide you out of this mess, there are now questions over that.
“The next challenge for North Melbourne will be, how do we convince Nick Larkey - who is a free agent at the end of next year, George Wardlaw to a lesser extent, Cam Zurhaar when he's next out of contract and their highly talented players, how are they going to convince them that this is the right environment for them?”
North Melbourne will be coached in the interim by former St Kilda and Carlton coach Brett Ratten.
Ratten’s first game in charge comes on Saturday when the Kangaroos host the Swans at Marvel Stadium.