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SEN Breakfast

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson in the studio (24.04.26)

23 Apr 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What led to Alastair Clarkson's visit to the studio?

1.297 - 14.558 Kingy (Different podcast host, possibly Tim Watson)

to your company on Fireball. Maybe the earliest in-studio guest we've ever had is the four-time Premiership coach Alistair Clarkson. Clarko, thanks for stopping by. No worries. On the way to work. On the way in. Does this mean my band's lifted?

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16.621 - 18.664 Alastair Clarkson

Well, I don't know about that. We'll see how today goes.

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20.585 - 34.579 Kingy (Different podcast host, possibly Tim Watson)

How did you, well, it was interesting, wasn't it? How did you feel that went? I haven't seen you since. Did you feel like as a club you may have overreacted or do we need to have it out in that space at all?

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35.46 - 48.853 Alastair Clarkson

We know the game. You know the game. And you know at different stages you've crossed the line too. So we just played the game. And when we feel like the line's been crossed too hard, we'll stick up for our men. Yep.

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48.833 - 69.148 Kane Cornes

I'm happy for you to whack him, Clarko, to be honest, if you want to feel free. Of course. How are you going? We've read a lot of your great stories that you've done and talked about the first couple of years with Jay Clark in the paper a couple of weeks ago. How is this year for you? Do you feel like you've put all that behind you and you've got clear air at the moment?

69.248 - 90.636 Alastair Clarkson

Yeah, yeah. Listen, I went through. If you're in this game for a long period of time, you just look what – goes on in the game, the unbelievable events that just happen in the, in the game that, um, you just, sometimes you've got no control over. And, um, but if you, if you're in the game long enough, it's not, um, if it's going to happen, it's just when really.

90.616 - 110.869 Alastair Clarkson

Um, and so I do enjoy a tough time, Foggs and myself in particular, but, um, yeah, you work your way through it. You navigate it as best you can, um, knowing full well that, um, if you stay true to your values, then, um, the, you'll, you'll be able to ride yourself through it. And, um, that's, that's what's happened. Foggs has been able to move on. I've been able to move on and.

110.849 - 121.201 Alastair Clarkson

Um, yeah, a lot, a lot more clear in here to, to, to actually focus on what I got to focus on. Let's get this club back, um, towards the top of the ladder. And you feel that you feel that release.

121.221 - 124.805 Kane Cornes

You can feel you, you, you, you're a different man in a lot of ways this year.

Chapter 2: How does Alastair Clarkson feel personally this year?

202.25 - 206.736 Alastair Clarkson

And when the standards are there, we give them a pat on the back. And when the standards aren't, we give them a kick up the bum.

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206.716 - 230.378 Alastair Clarkson

um so it's it's pretty simple and um i've always um worked on um on the theory if you develop a really really strong relationship with anyone whether it's your partner whether it's your children whether it's your friends or or whether it's the players that you coach you've got a really really strong relationship then um you can cuddle when it needs to be cuddled which um which is which is necessary and and when you when you need to give a shot especially when

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230.358 - 242.629 Alastair Clarkson

You're going down to Google and you're four times, four goals down at the three quarter time and mistakes have been made in that previous five minutes that has turned a two goal deficit into a four goal deficit. Then some things need to be pretty stern.

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243.031 - 259.75 Kane Cornes

So how did you reflect on the McCurch? From outside looking in, a lot of people go, oh, you can't do that as senior coach. You can't throw your fist into someone's chest. But it's different inside the footy bubble, I understand that. How has that been reviewed or viewed?

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260.07 - 275.729 Alastair Clarkson

It hasn't. We've got a set of standards that we expect, and Kirch was the first one that knew that he'd fallen below the standards. And that's when we talk about, you know, It just gets blown away out of proportion. You just did it then, fist to the chest.

276.129 - 276.89 Kane Cornes

You've got to be kidding me.

276.91 - 297.576 Alastair Clarkson

How would you describe it? I understand. It was just contact to the chest, but it's not a fist to the chest. It's just that things get blown out of proportion. It's just like the main confrontation was around the standards and looking one another in the eye and say, that's not to the level that we want. But the actual physical contact was that minor that it's just like nothing to see.

297.617 - 316.459 Alastair Clarkson

And that's why Gertz didn't. rally, um, because he knew that what, what, what we're after and what we're chasing is, is high standards, world-class standards, and that fell well below what we were expecting. And, um, and whether it's Kirch or, um, or, or Larks or whoever it is, they're, they're the standards that we're chasing.

316.499 - 321.587 Alastair Clarkson

And, um, when we're really strong around those, that's when we'll start climbing the ladders.

Chapter 3: Has Alastair Clarkson's coaching style changed over the years?

778.977 - 790.212 Alastair Clarkson

Like what a, what a beautiful message, all the, the, the commentary around it and that sort of stuff. And he just cut through to what was the most important thing. And that was returning his son to full health.

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790.232 - 812.954 Alastair Clarkson

Um, and, and in footy clubs, we've got a role to play in that, but there's, there is, there is no way that that club or any club is not trying to do the very, very best by their, uh, by their player. And, um, and, And I think we just need to take a step back and just let things unfold a little bit, um, before we, um, it is just an unbelievable pile on the space of a week.

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812.974 - 823.706 Kingy (Different podcast host, possibly Tim Watson)

I just can't believe it. Do you think the questions though around what led to that affair, like, do you think trying to get an outcome as to how this has happened so it doesn't happen again are fair questions to ask from the media or not?

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824.387 - 847.579 Alastair Clarkson

Um, yeah, I think they're fair questions to ask, but the problem is, is there's a thousand of you all trying to ask the same question and it just becomes an unbelievable pile on. Um, And 999 of them have been a pile on Carlton Footy Club. And I just don't think there's balance there. You have got the illness of a player who, And they're trying to deal with that first and foremost.

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847.619 - 864.445 Alastair Clarkson

And to be fair, they're not giving a rat's ass about the 999 that are having a crack at them because all they're caring about is getting the health of the player back in check again. But they've got to deal with the other stuff. But yeah, it needs to be done because no one likes to see it. So some sort of investigation needs to be done.

864.585 - 879.688 Alastair Clarkson

And Carlton would be the first club that's sitting there saying, we need to work out how the hell did that happen? Because it was obviously that he wasn't well. Um, but, um, for, for that to become a poll and more or less saying, which is if I was coaching Carlton, that wouldn't have happened.

879.728 - 900.9 Alastair Clarkson

Or if I was their CEO, there was no way that it's just like, Hey, come on, you guys, some of the people that are making these comments in the press, the guys that have made those sort of errors in their lives or in their footy careers. Um, and they just need to step back and just understand that, Hey, sometimes, sometimes this is pretty murky. You sound angry with the media, is it?

901.321 - 920.849 Alastair Clarkson

I'm not angry with the media. It's just, it's, it's just the game, but it's just a, it's, it's the, it's the pile on nature of it. It's just like Carlton are dealing with an unbelievably unique situation. Um, and they're trying around the care of their player that everyone knows because Elijah has been so open about the troubles and challenges that he's, that he's had to face.

921.33 - 940.765 Alastair Clarkson

And then we get an incident like that, which. We can't explain and Carlton can't explain. They might be able to now that they've looked into it more. I don't know any of the detail of that, but, um, I'm just, I'm just concerned with the poll on that just adds to the trauma for both the club and the player trying to deal with a very, very, very difficult situation that they're facing.

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