Alastair Thomas Clarkson (born 27 April 1968) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL) and was previously head coach of the

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawth ...

from 2005 to 2021, where he won four premierships (2008, 2013, 2014, 2015). Hailing from the small town of Kaniva, Victoria, Clarkson played eleven seasons of AFL football – nine for

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

(1987–1995) followed by two for

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(1996–1997). He played 134 games in total, playing either in the midfield or on the half-forward flanks. After retiring from playing, Clarkson served for periods as an assistant coach at St Kilda (1999), head coach of VFL club

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werrib ...

(2000), head coach of

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

club Central District (2001–2002), and assistant coach at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

(2003–2004). Clarkson was appointed senior coach of Hawthorn at the end of the 2004 season, in which the club had placed second-last. Hawthorn returned to the finals in 2007, Clarkson's third season in charge, and the following year defeated

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

in the grand final to claim their first premiership since 1991. From 2012 to 2015, Clarkson cemented his place in club history by coaching Hawthorn to four consecutive grand finals. The Hawks emerged victorious in 2013, 2014, and 2015, becoming only the sixth team in league history to win three consecutive premierships. Clarkson is one of the few men to have coached four premiership teams and is widely considered among the most innovative and successful coaches in AFL history.

Early life

Clarkson grew up in the small rural town of

Kaniva Kaniva is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway, north of Little Desert National Park, in the Shire of West Wimmera local government area. It is located roughly east of the South Australian border and east of Bo ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. He moved to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

at the age of 14 to board at

Ballarat Clarendon College Ballarat Clarendon College is a private, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Formerly affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of Australia, it now operates in association with the Uniting Church ...

, where he played in the school cricket and football teams. When not playing for his school, Clarkson would play for the Kaniva & Districts Football Club in the Tatiara Football League.

Playing career

North Melbourne

Clarkson was recruited by the

, where he made his

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

debut in round 15 of the 1987 season against

, kicking the winning goal after the siren. Clarkson was 19 and at the end of his first season with North Melbourne when the Kangaroos met Carlton in October 1987 in the controversial "Battle of Britain", an exhibition match at

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Several players from both teams were suspended after a spiteful game, with Clarkson receiving a four-match penalty for coward punching Ian Aitken from behind being the longest. Aitken's jaw was broken from the attack. He played mainly as a half-forward and stood at 171 cm, before moving into the midfield. In 1995, he was made captain of the reserves side, with chances of senior selection unlikely due to the presence of midfielders such as

Wayne Schwass Wayne Schwass (born 27 November 1968) is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He is notable as being the first New Zealand–born AFL player known to be of Māori heritage. He holds the record for ...

Anthony Stevens Anthony Stevens (born 2 July 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos. He was named as ruck rover in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. Stevens was a member of North Melbourne premiersh ...

and

Anthony Rock Anthony Rock (born 29 September 1970) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne and Hawthorn in the VFL/AFL. Junior career Rock played his junior football at St Dominic's Junior FC—a club that later folded due ...

. He played 93 games with the Kangaroos for 61 goals in his nine seasons until 1995. During his playing days with North Melbourne, Clarkson was employed by

Wesley College, Melbourne Wesley College is a co-educational, open-entry private school in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is the only school in Victoria to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) from early childhood to Year 12. The college ...

, as a physical education teacher.

Melbourne

With limited opportunity at the Kangaroos, Clarkson was traded to the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

where he debuted in 1996. He was a solid player and averaged 23.5 disposals in 22 games that year. He played 19 games in 1997, taking his tally with the Demons to 41 games, before retiring at the end of the season. Clarkson served as a runner with the Melbourne Football Club in 1998.

Coaching career

St Kilda Football Club assistant coach

Clarkson was an assistant coach under senior coach

Tim Watson Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former AFL player for Essendon and current broadcaster for more than 30 years, with the Seven Network since 1992 & 1116 SEN radio. After retiring from the game, he also continued working in the ...

at the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

in 1999.

Werribee Football Club head coach

Clarkson took over as head coach at

in the VFL in 2000.

Central District Football Club senior coach

He moved to Central District in South Australia, where he was the premiership coach in his debut year in 2001. In 2002, Clarkson guided Central District to the SANFL minor premiership and guided them to their second successive SANFL Grand Final. However, they ended up losing to Sturt.

Port Adelaide Football Club assistant coach

In 2003, Clarkson became an assistant coach in the position of midfield coach at

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...

under senior coach Mark Williams and was part of their coaching team in the club's 2004 premiership.

Hawthorn Football Club senior coach (2005–2021)

Clarkson was appointed to his first senior

(AFL) coaching role for the 2005 season when the

Hawks Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and othe ...

appointed him to lead their rebuilding phase. Clarkson replaced Hawthorn Football Club caretaker senior coach Donald McDonald, who replaced Peter Schwab during the 2004 season, after Schwab quit during the season when the Hawks were struggling and eventually finished in second-last placed position on the ladder at the end of the 2004 season. Clarkson was prepared to delist older players and introduce a youth policy. Club veterans Rayden Tallis, Mark Graham,

Kris Barlow Kris Barlow (born 15 July 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Drafted at the age of 25 from Vermont, picked up at 86 in the 1998 National Draft, Barlow wa ...

, Luke McCabe and Lance Picioane left the club and Nathan Thompson was traded to North Melbourne. Hawthorn under Clarkson had five wins in Clarkson's debut season as senior coach of the Hawthorn Football Club in the 2005 season. Another round of culling saw the delisting of

Angelo Lekkas Angelo Lekkas (born 29 June 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire professional career with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After a stellar year playing in the TAC competition with ...

and

Nick Holland Nick ‘Dutchy’ Holland (born 29 July 1974) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played 179 games for Australian Football League (AFL) club Hawthorn between 1994 and 2005, serving as Vice Captain between 1999 and 20 ...

and the trade of Jonathan Hay and Nathan Lonie. Clarkson brought to the club delisted players

Brent Guerra Brent Guerra (born 29 May 1982) is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Port Adelaide Football Club, St Kilda Football Club, and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. Career Port Adelaide Beginning ...

and

Stephen Gilham Stephen Gilham (born 2 September 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club and Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He now ...

whom he knew from his time at Port Adelaide. In the 2006 season, the side under Clarkson improved as Clarkson showed innovation by restructuring the forwards with a system that became known as "Buddy's box". The team won its last four games in a row to finish in 11th spot on the ladder at the end of the 2006 season. The Hawks under Clarkson continued to improve in the 2007 season, winning 13 games and finishing fifth on the premiership table. This took them into the finals, where they defeated

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in an elimination final, before being eliminated in a semi-final against

. Clarkson went against his own policy on draft day 2007 when, in addition to youngster

Cyril Rioli Cyril Rioli (born 14 July 1989) is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. Rioli was a member of four premiership teams and was the Norm Smith Medallist in the 2015 ...

, he recruited the recently retired

Stuart Dew Stuart Dew (born 18 August 1979) is an Australian rules football coach and former head coach of the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). As a player, he played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club i ...

, whom he also knew from his time at Port Adelaide. He also introduced a new style of play that became known as the "Clarkson cluster". Early dominance in the 2008 season led Hawthorn to announce that Clarkson had signed a contract until the end of 2011. In the 2008 season, Clarkson took the Hawks to second place at the end of the minor round before coaching the team to the premiership victory in the

2008 AFL Grand Final The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2008. It was the 112th annual AFL Gran ...

, when Hawthorn defeated

by a margin of 26 points, with the final score Hawthorn 18.7 (115) to Geelong 11.23 (89), Geelong had lost only one game during the year. In doing so, Clarkson became the first (and, as of 2017, only) person to be a premiership-winning coach in both the AFL/VFL and the SANFL. After the 2008 premiership, opposition teams worked hard at picking the "Clarkson cluster" apart. Dogged by injuries to key players, the Hawks under Clarkson slipped down the ladder to finish ninth at the end of the 2009 season and therefore just missed out of the finals. After a poor start to the 2010 season, when the club under Clarkson lost six out of its first seven games, including an embarrassing 43-point loss to in Round 6, 2010 after which the entire club came under scrutiny, the team finally abandoned the cluster for a more precision-kicking style. Aided by recruiting established players to cover weaknesses, the club under Clarkson climbed its way back up the ladder and finished seventh on the ladder at the end of the 2010 season, therefore making the finals, but the Hawks under Clarkson were eliminated by

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

in the first week of the 2010 elimination final. In the 2011 season, the Hawks under Clarkson finished third on the ladder and made the finals, but were eliminated by the eventual runners-up Collingwood in the 2011 Preliminary Final. In the 2012 season, Clarkson coached Hawthorn to the

2012 AFL Grand Final The 2012 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2012. It was the 117th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the Au ...

, but fell short and lost to

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...

by a margin of 10 points with the final score Hawthorn 11.15 (81) to Sydney Swans 14.7 (91). In the 2013 season, Clarkson again led the Hawks to another premiership win, this time over in the

2013 AFL Grand Final The 2013 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 September 2013. It concluded the 118th season of the Australian Football Le ...

with the score Hawthorn 11.11 (77) to Fremantle 8.14 (62). Clarkson's additions of players with

Shaun Burgoyne Shaun Playford Burgoyne (born 21 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Burgoyne was the first Indigenous Austral ...

and

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National ...

who arrived in 2010, David Hale in 2011,

Jack Gunston Jack Gunston (born 16 October 1991) is a professional Australian footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Brisbane Lions and the Adelaide Football Club. Early lif ...

in 2012 and

Brian Lake Brian Lake (né Harris; 27 February 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He now plays for his local club Caroline Spr ...

in 2013, had a significant impact on the club. In 2013, Clarkson became only the third man behind John Kennedy, Sr. and

Allan Jeans Allan Lindsay Jeans (21 September 1933 – 13 July 2011) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame at its inception in 1996. Jeans was known for his oratory and motivation skills as a ...

to coach Hawthorn for 200 games. He is the only man to coach the club in 200 consecutive games. In Round 8, 2014, he became the equal second longest-serving coach of Hawthorn, with Allan Jeans, when he coached his 221st AFL match against the Sydney Swans. Clarkson has been coach of the Australian team in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team ...

in 2014 and 2015. The IRS is a hybrid game played between an Australian team of AFL players and one made up of Irish Gaelic footballers at the end of each of their seasons. It is played alternately in Ireland and Australia. The 2014 game was the first time in the competition's 30-year history that just one game decided the series winner. During the 2014 season in May 2014, Clarkson was admitted to hospital after a back injury which was later diagnosed as

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...

. Assistant coach Brendon Bolton became the interim senior coach for five matches, winning every game in Clarkson's absence. Clarkson returned in July after his absence of five matches, after Clarkson received an endorsement from his doctors to resume his role as senior coach. and coached Hawthorn to their 12th premiership win when they defeated

21.11 (137) to 11.8 (74) in the

2014 AFL Grand Final The 2014 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and the Hawthorn Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 2014. It was the 119th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the Au ...

. This placed him alongside Allan Jeans and John Kennedy Sr as Hawthorn's most successful premiership winning coaches, with three premierships each. In the 2015 season, Clarkson coached Hawthorn to their third straight flag in the

2015 AFL Grand Final The 2015 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the West Coast Eagles at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 3 October 2015. It was the 120th annual AFL Grand Final, Grand Final of th ...

, when Hawthorn defeated

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

16.11 (107) to 8.13 (61). This made Clarkson Hawthorn's most successful coach, and tying

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn Football Club, Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the ...

as the only coaches to win three straight premierships in the 21st century. Alastair Clarkson 16

In the 2016 season, the Hawks under Clarkson finished third on the ladder and again made the finals. But Hawthorn under Clarkson were eliminated by the eventual premiers the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

in the semi-final. In the 2017 season, Hawthorn under Clarkson fell back with the club's on-field performance and finished twelve on the ladder, therefore missing out of the finals. In the 2018 season, The Hawks under Clarkson returned to the finals when they finished fourth on the ladder, but were eliminated by

in the semi-final. In the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, the Hawks under Clarkson finished ninth on the ladder and therefore just missed out of the finals. In the 2020 season, the Hawks under Clarkson fell back with a disastrous deterioration in the club's on-field performance and finished fifteenth place (fourth-last) placed position on the ladder with five wins and twelve losses. On 6 July 2021, the Hawthorn Football Club announced that it will implement a succession plan which will see Clarkson coach out his current contract, before being succeeded as senior coach by assistant coach Sam Mitchell from 2023. However, on 30 July 2021, it was announced that Clarkson would leave Hawthorn at the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season, with Mitchell immediately succeeding him. In Clarkson's final season as senior coach of Hawthorn Football Club in the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, the Hawks under Clarkson finished fourteenth on the ladder (fifth-last) position on the ladder. Clarkson coached Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 until 2021, for a total of 17 seasons, with a record of 390 games with 228 wins, 158 losses and 4 draws with a winning percentage of 60 percent. Clarkson also coached the club to a total of four premierships in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015 as well as when the club finished as runners-up in 2012. In September 2022, following his departure from the club, he was alleged to have been involved in the isolation and separation of indigenous players from their partners and families, allegations which came to light as part of an external review into historical racism commissioned by Hawthorn. Investigations into the allegations are ongoing.

North Melbourne Football Club senior coach (2023-present)

After David Noble was sacked as senior coach of North Melbourne and caretaker senior coach

Leigh Adams Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also wo ...

took over for the remaining matches of the 2022 season, on 19 August 2022, it was announced that Clarkson would become senior coach of North Melbourne on a five-year contract, starting from the 2023 season. The appointment was described as a "homecoming" for him due to his playing career starting at the club. In May 2023, just before the start of Round 10, Clarkson announced that he would step away from his role as North Melbourne senior coach indefinitely, citing mental health as a result of the investigation into alleged historical racism during his time at Hawthorn. He would have coached his 400th game that weekend against the

. Assistant coach

Brett Ratten Brett Ratten (born 11 July 1971) is an Australian rules football coach and former player in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 255 games for the Carlton Football Club between 1990 and 2003, including the club's 1995 premiership. He ...

, who had been caretaker senior coach at two previous clubs, was announced as Clarkson's caretaker. Clarkson resumed his role as senior coach of North Melbourne in Round 21, 2023 against Melbourne.

Clarkson proteges

A number of Clarkson's assistants have gone on to coach at senior level in the AFL. Notably, Clarkson and his proteges have collectively appeared in 11 out of 12

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

s and won 10 out of 12 AFL premierships since

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. *

Damien Hardwick Damien Patrick Hardwick (born 18 August 1972) is a current Australian rules football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League. He is the former senior coach of the Richmond Football ...

, (2010–2023;

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and 2020 premiership coach), (2024–present) *

Todd Viney Todd Viney (born 30 March 1966) is an Australian rules football executive and former player and coach. He is currently the General Manager of Football of the North Melbourne Football Club. Viney played 13 seasons with in the VFL/AFL, and he la ...

, (2011 caretaker coach) *

Leon Cameron Leon Cameron (born 2 September 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the former senior coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS) in the Australian Football League (AFL). His AFL playing career lasted from 1990 to 2003 and i ...

, (2014–2022) *

Adam Simpson Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam si ...

, (2014–2024; 2018 premiership coach) *

Luke Beveridge Luke Beveridge (born 23 August 1970) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who played for Melbourne, Footscray and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s. He is senior coach of the Western Bulldogs ...

, (2015–present; 2016 premiership coach) * John Barker, (2015 caretaker coach) * Brendon Bolton, (2014 caretaker coach), (2016–2019)¹ * Chris Fagan, (2017–present; 2024 premiership coach) *

, (2019 caretaker coach, 2020–2022),² (2023 interim coach)⁶ * Sam Mitchell, (2022–)³ *

Craig McRae Craig McRae (born 22 September 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer and the current senior coach of the Collingwood Football Club. Playing career Glenelg Football Club McRae played for Glenelg Football Club in the SANFL from 1993 unti ...

, , (2022–; 2023 premiership coach) *

Adem Yze Adem Yze ( ; born 21 September 1977)MelbourneFC.com.aPlayer Profile – Adem Yze, ''Official AFL Website of the Melbourne Football Club'', 12 August 2008. is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He played for the Melbourne Footb ...

, (2022 caretaker coach),⁴ (2024–) * Scott Burns, (2022 caretaker coach)⁵ ¹ Bolton returned to Hawthorn soon after his tenure as Carlton coach ended in round 11, 2019.
² Ratten had previously coached at Carlton between 2007 and 2012 before joining Hawthorn as an assistant coach in 2013.
³ Mitchell succeeded Clarkson as coach at the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season.
⁴ Yze filled in for

Simon Goodwin Simon Goodwin (born 26 December 1976) is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He has been the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2017. As a player, Goodwin tallied 275 AF ...

for one match in round 7, 2022, due to Goodwin entering the AFL's health and safety protocols.
⁵ Burns filled in for

Matthew Nicks Matthew Nicks (born 13 May 1975) is a former professional Australian Football League player and currently the senior coach of the Adelaide Football Club. He was recruited from the West Adelaide Football Club to the Sydney Swans with the 21st se ...

for one match in round 8, 2022, due to Nicks entering the AFL's health and safety protocols.
⁶ Ratten filled in for Clarkson as senior coach of North Melbourne for ten matches in 2023, due to Clarkson taking leave.

Statistics

Playing statistics

: , - ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, , , , 57 , 8 , , 7 , , 8 , , 67 , , 34 , , 101 , , 15 , , 4 , , 0.9 , , 1.0 , , 8.4 , , 4.3 , , 12.6 , , 1.9 , , 0.5 , , 0 , - ,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, , , , 23 , 19 , , 34 , , 23 , , 230 , , 99 , , 329 , , 102 , , 12 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , 12.1 , , 5.2 , , 17.3 , , 5.4 , , 0.6 , , 2 , - ,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, , , , 23 , 13 , , 8 , , 11 , , 136 , , 63 , , 199 , , 40 , , 13 , , 0.6 , , 0.8 , , 10.5 , , 4.8 , , 15.3 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , 0 , - ,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, , , , 23 , 7 , , 2 , , 7 , , 74 , , 30 , , 104 , , 21 , , 5 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 10.6 , , 4.3 , , 14.9 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0 , - ,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, , , , 23 , 5 , , 1 , , 3 , , 31 , , 30 , , 61 , , 10 , , 0 , , 0.2 , , 0.6 , , 6.2 , , 6.0 , , 12.2 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0 , - ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, , , , 23 , 10 , , 2 , , 3 , , 85 , , 62 , , 147 , , 24 , , 10 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 8.5 , , 6.2 , , 14.7 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 0 , - ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, , , , 23 , 14 , , 1 , , 2 , , 98 , , 60 , , 158 , , 16 , , 18 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.0 , , 4.3 , , 11.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.3 , , 0 , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, , , , 23 , 14 , , 6 , , 3 , , 119 , , 67 , , 186 , , 20 , , 23 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 8.5 , , 4.8 , , 13.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 0 , - ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, , , , 23 , 3 , , 0 , , 2 , , 10 , , 7 , , 17 , , 2 , , 1 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , , 3.3 , , 2.3 , , 5.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0 , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , , , 23 , 22 , , 13 , , 12 , , 369 , , 150 , , 519 , , 107 , , 35 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 16.8 , , 6.8 , , 23.6 , , 4.9 , , 1.6 , , 2 , - ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, , , , 23 , 19 , , 11 , , 1 , , 202 , , 88 , , 290 , , 61 , , 28 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 10.6 , , 4.6 , , 15.3 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , 1 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 134 !! 85 !! 75 !! 1421 !! 690 !! 2111 !! 418 !! 149 !! 0.6 !! 0.6 !! 10.6 !! 5.1 !! 15.8 !! 3.1 !! 1.1 !! 5

Head coaching record

Honours and achievements

Team * 4× AFL premiership coach ():

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* 2×

Minor premiership A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymolo ...

(): 2012, 2013 * SANFL premiership coach ( Central District):

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

* 2× Minor premiership ( Central District):

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Individual * 4× Jock McHale Medal:

* 4×

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

* 2×

Australia international rules football team The Australia international rules football team is Australia's senior representative team in International rules football, a hybrid sport derived from Australian rules football and Gaelic football. The current team is solely made up of players ...

* life member

Temperament

In addition to his role in the Battle of Britain exhibition match, Clarkson has been sanctioned for his bad temper on several occasions during his coaching career. In Round 22, 2009, against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

, Clarkson was fined $15,000 for confronting and threatening

Matthew Lloyd Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include ...

after Lloyd had flattened Hawthorn's

Brad Sewell Brad Sewell (born 2 February 1984) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. Early life Sewell played junior football at the Newlyn Football Club which is part of ...

and started a brawl at the start of the third quarter of the match, and for abusing an interchange steward who attempted to intervene in the incident. In July 2012, while serving as the runner for his son's team in a South Metro Junior Football League under-9s match, Clarkson was reported for abusing 19-year-old umpires' adviser Thomas Grundy; he was suspended for four SMJFL matches for the incident. The incident occurred one day after he had punched a hole in the wall of a

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

coaches' box during an AFL match. In May 2013, Clarkson again created controversy after calling AFL Media journalist Matt Thompson a "cockhead". After Hawthorn's Round 4 loss to Port Adelaide in 2015, footage was released of Clarkson appearing to grab the throat of a fan outside a hotel in Adelaide. After the club defended his actions, Clarkson suggested he was worried about his safety as three heavily intoxicated men had made physical contact with him after he refused photos, causing Clarkson to push one of the men. Unlike his previous incidents, Clarkson received almost unanimous support within the football industry, as well as from the general public over his actions. In 2024 during the AFL pre-season, Clarkson was fined $25,000 and given a 2-match suspended sentence for approaching Jimmy Webster for his bump on

Jy Simpkin Jy Simpkin (born 5 March 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the North Melbourne Football Club with their first selection a ...

, reportedly calling Webster a "cocksucker". In May 2024, Clarkson was investigated for, and ultimately cleared of, verbally abusing umpires during North Melbourne's loss to Port Adelaide.

Personal life

Clarkson holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

, and also a Bachelor of Sports Science. Clarkson is married with three children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Alastair Hawthorn Football Club coaches Hawthorn Football Club premiership coaches North Melbourne Football Club players Melbourne Football Club players Central District Football Club coaches Werribee Football Club coaches All-Australian coaches 1968 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australia international rules football team coaches VFL/AFL premiership coaches North Melbourne Football Club coaches People educated at Ballarat Clarendon College