Alastair Clarkson

Alastair Thomas Clarkson (born 27 April 1968 ) is an Australian rules football coach and former player.

Hailing from the small town of Kaniva, Victoria, Clarkson played eleven seasons of AFL football – nine for North Melbourne (1987–1995) followed by two for Melbourne (1996–1997).

He played 134 games in total, playing either in the midfield or on the half-forward flanks.

Clarkson was recruited by the North Melbourne Football Club, where he made his Victorian Football League debut in round 15 of the 1987 season against Melbourne, 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 in London.

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, Anthony Stevens and Anthony Rock.

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, as a physical education teacher.

With limited opportunity at the Kangaroos, Clarkson was traded to the Melbourne Football Club 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.

After retiring from playing, Clarkson served for periods as an assistant coach at St Kilda (1999), head coach of VFL club Werribee (2000), head coach of SANFL club Central District (2001–2002), and assistant coach at Port Adelaide (2003–2004).

Clarkson was an assistant coach under senior coach Tim Watson at the St Kilda Football Club in 1999.

Clarkson took over as head coach at Werribee in the VFL in 2000.

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.

In 2003, Clarkson became an assistant coach in the position of midfield coach at Port Adelaide Football Club under senior coach Mark Williams and was part of their coaching team in the club's 2004 premiership.

Clarkson was appointed senior coach of Hawthorn at the end of the 2004 season, in which the club had placed second-last.

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, Luke McCabe and Lance Picioane left the club and Nathan Thompson was traded to North Melbourne.

He is currently the head coach of the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and was previously head coach of the Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 to 2021, where he won four premierships (2008, 2013, 2014, 2015).

Clarkson was appointed to his first senior Australian Football League (AFL) coaching role for the 2005 season when the Hawks appointed him to lead their rebuilding phase.

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 and Nick Holland and the trade of Jonathan Hay and Nathan Lonie.

Clarkson brought to the club delisted players Brent Guerra and Stephen Gilham 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.

Hawthorn returned to the finals in 2007, Clarkson's third season in charge, and the following year defeated Geelong 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.

Clarkson grew up in the small rural town of Kaniva, Victoria.

He moved to Ballarat at the age of 14 to board at Ballarat Clarendon College, 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.