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Blight calls on Clarkson to coach Kangaroos

North Melbourne legend Malcolm Blight believes the Kangaroos are ready for Alastair Clarkson to take them into premiership contention after the club sacked former coach David Noble yesterday.

Jul 13, 2022, updated Jul 13, 2022
Malcolm Blight says former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson should lead North Melbourne. Photo AAP/Daniel Pockett

Malcolm Blight says former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson should lead North Melbourne. Photo AAP/Daniel Pockett

Blight’s bold call comes after North on Tuesday sacked Noble following less than two seasons in the job.

The Kangaroos will now attempt to lure Clarkson to Arden St after the four-time Hawthorn premiership coach sat out this season following his exit from the Hawks at the end of 2021.

North won just five out of 38 games during Noble’s tenure, punctuated by a 14-match losing streak.

After finishing ninth in 2018, North have finished 12th, 17th, 18th and are on track for back-to-back wooden spoons as they search for their fourth head coach during that period.

But Blight, who starred in North’s 1975 and 1977 premierships, believes there are genuine reasons for optimism despite the gloomy outlook for the embattled club.

The Australian Football Hall of Fame legend has labelled the likes of Jy Simpkin, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Nick Larkey as players who the Kangaroos can rebuild around.

“This is the sixth year of a rebuild. Something’s wrong,” Blight told Sportsday SA.

“But if I was picking a team now and I had a choice of which teams I would coach, you know which team I would coach? North Melbourne.

“If I’m Alastair Clarkson, (former St Kilda and Fremantle coach) Ross Lyon, (ex-Adelaide coach) Don Pyke or anyone out there, I would be taking this team on now.

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“I reckon you’ve got seven really, really good young players coming into their prime and they’ll get a first-rounder again (in the draft) and they may even get (a priority pick).

“If Alastair Clarkson is looking for a team he can coach a premiership to, and that’s what he wants to do again, to say the Hawthorn experience wasn’t a fluke, that’s in his own words.

“They’re already there, they’re in year five and six, they’re coming.”

North president Sonja Hood refused to comment on Tuesday when asked if the club had already sounded out Clarkson.

The former Hawks supremo has already met with GWS about taking their taking their vacant head coaching role next season.

“I am not even going to speculate on it,” Hood said.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn great Luke Hodge believes North have to offer his former coach something special to land Clarkson.

“If they want to go and land a big bloke like Clarko, they need to make some moves off-field to show that there is support there for him, that if he does have a bad 12 months of developing, as he did in his second year at Hawthorn, he doesn’t have to worry about his job,” Hodge told SEN.

“At the moment, do I see him going to North?

“Doubtful, but if they can be strong and make some calls off-field, then anything (can happen).”

-with AAP

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