Sacked North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson apologised to Essendon after allegedly making an inappropriate comment to the Bombers’ AFLW side.
North Melbourne confirmed on Wednesday morning it had “decided to part ways” with the veteran coach.
According to SEN, the incident, which was in no way related to the alleged comment, occurred on August 23 when the two footy teams were sharing a Sydney hotel ahead of a double-header at the SCG.
Clarkson was reportedly in a lift with the AFLW players when he referenced the Sydney Swans sexual assault allegations by saying words to the effect of: “Keep your hands up”.
It is understood the ex-Kangaroos coach immediately regretted the remark and issued a swift apology which was accepted.
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According to North Melbourne, the decision to sack Clarkson was made after a consultation period with football department staff and players at the end of the season.
“We asked Alastair to give our club stability and strength and help return us to the top of the AFL ladder,” Kangaroos president Dr Sonja Hood said.
“Four years later, we have created an environment where our staff and players want to be at our club. This is a testament to the culture Alastair has helped create and the belief that he has built in this group.
“Although we have clearly made progress and won more games, we won’t shy away from our desire to want more from this talented group.
“We are incredibly grateful to Alastair for the work he’s done over the last four years and we wish him all the very best for his next chapter.”
The former Hawthorn premiership coach arrived at the Kangaroos spruiked as the man to pull North Melbourne out of an era of failure — but his tenure is ending with the club still in disarray.
In a damning statement to members, club president Hood said confidence in Clarkson around the club had waned.
“Having consulted widely across the club, it has become clear that Alastair no longer has the belief from enough people at the club that he is the right coach to take this group forward,” Hood wrote.
“Once we knew that, it felt disrespectful to him to have him coach into 2027, knowing we would not extend him at the end of that.
“Our culture among the players, staff and coaches is undeniably strong, but we need a consistently clear and concise on-field strategy to sit alongside that.
“We have made progress and won more games but we won’t shy away from our desire to want more from this talented group. This is unashamedly a football decision.
“Alastair, of course, believes he can turn this around – that’s part of what makes him so special. We don’t agree with him, and hence we are at this point today.
“The decision to move on from Alastair was tough, but we have made this decision in the best interests of our football club.
“Make no mistake – our next piece of silverware will have his fingerprints all over it. And regardless of how they might feel right at this moment, Alastair and his family will always belong to this club.
“Just as Alastair was the man for the times four years ago, we’re confident we’ll find the right person to take us forward again.”
Hood added “this will be a highly sought-after job”.
“This club needs a coach who can coach for the modern game,” she said.
At Tuesday afternoon’s press conference, Kangaroos general manager of football Todd Viney said there were holes in the team’s game plan and players had grown confused by Clarkson’s messaging.
“Unfortunately there’s still some gaping holes in our game plan which we have been looking to try and fix,” Viney said.
“There’s some key metrics that we haven’t been able to arrest and therefore we haven’t been able to make the jump.
“If there was one thing Clarko did it was try too hard to try and fix that. What happens is we get into more meetings, more information and the players become a little bit confused and we don’t get the cohesion we need to win more games.
“In trying to educate that, messages have become a little bit muddier and the players feel like they haven’t been clear.
“The game is too big for one person to do it. He just took that extra load on too much himself and perhaps didn’t delegate we well as he could. The messages became a little bit too much for some of the players.”
Hood confirmed the Kangaroos had terminated Clarkson’s contract, adding “he’s upset”.
“The decision we’ve made is about the next four years, where we take the club and how we push for silverware,” she said.
“And there is not enough belief among the key people, on or off field, that he is the key person to drive that.”
Viney said: “He was surprised with the conversation. He didn’t see it coming.”
Clarkson took mental health leave in 2023 during a historical racism case from his time at Hawthorn.
“Unfortunately for him the Hawthorn stuff happened and that took an enormous toll for the first two or three years,” Viney said.
“In fact, I’m not sure the scars are fully healed. He’s gone through enormous trauma.
“He’s done an amazing job to get us where we are now, but I do feel we need a new voice to help get us to where we’re going.”
Dr Hood said the club had no preconceived ideas on who should take over as coach and would announce its plans for its hiring process next week.
“I can’t state that strongly enough,” she said. “We have no preconceived idea of who that individual is.”
According to AFL Media journalist Callum Twomey, players have been told the club does not have an immediate candidate to replace Clarkson.
Premiership coaches — and North Melbourne cult figures — John Longmire and Adam Simpson do not have senior coaching positions heading into 2027 and are the obvious candidates for the role.
Clarkson has released a statement through his management.
“My time as coach of the North Melbourne Football Club has come to an end,” he said.
“We set out to stabilise the club and lay the foundations for a return to playing deep in September.
“The challenge was a difficult one that I embraced with my whole being.
My family and I have been privileged to be involved in AFL football for over 40 years, but it is now time for a new chapter.”
The club said in a statement on Wednesday it will now begin a “process” to recruit its next senior coach.
North Melbourne players reportedly learned of the news when summoned to an emergency meeting at club headquarters from 11.30am.
Clarkson won 20 games during his four seasons in charge at North Melbourne, with his team recording nine victories in 2026, falling short of the wildcard round and finals.
According to SEN journalist Sam Edmund, staff from across all departments of the club were summoned to attend.
Multiple players were spotted arriving at the club’s Arden Street HQ before the news of Clarkson’s departure was first reported.
The 58-year-old was heading into the final year of a monster five-year contract which reportedly made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the game.
While North Melbourne has shown signs it has the potential to climb the ladder, the club is now back at square one as it heads into the AFL Trade Period without a senior coach.
Clarkson has been under pressure in recent weeks with the club falling apart in the second half of the season.
The Roos won just one of their final eight games and finished the season with a 53-point loss to the Swans, who played without the so-called “Pullman Five”.
North will be the third AFL club to appoint a new coach in 2026 after Mark McVeigh was appointed as Brad Scott’s successor at Essendon and Josh Fraser was elevated from interim to head coach at Carlton following Michael Voss’ decision to step down earlier this year.
Viney will remain with the club in his current role.
North Melbourne’s AFLW team face St Kilda on Saturday.
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