Alastair Clarkson reveals he could’ve been lost to footy before one of the Kangaroos’ youngest stars gave him reason to come back to the game

Alastair Clarkson reveals he could’ve been lost to footy before one of the Kangaroos’ youngest stars gave him reason to come back to the game

• Clarkson to coach for first time in 11 weeks 
• Took extended break to focus on mental health 
• Desire to see youngster’s debut brought him back 

By Ed Bourke For Nca Newswire

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has revealed he might have been lost to football until an exciting Kangaroos debutant reignited his passion for the game and sparked a ‘light-bulb’ moment for the premiership-winning mentor.

Clarkson will coach the Roos for the first time in 11 weeks on Sunday after stepping away from his role to focus on his physical and mental health amid the fallout from the Hawthorn racism scandal.

He said he had no appetite to watch AFL matches, including North Melbourne’s, during the first four weeks of his leave but was inspired to work his way back to coaching after watching No.4 pick George Wardlaw’s breakout third game in the six-point round 12 loss to Essendon.

‘For the first four weeks of stepping away from the game I lost my appetite even to watch footy, including the North games,’ Clarkson said.

‘It was funny, it was like a light bulb came on for me when George Wardlaw played against Essendon, and it was just like jeez, I want to be involved in this kid’s career.

Clarkson (centre) has credited the debut of exciting youngster George Wardlaw (pictured right, with teammate Harry Sheezel, left) for bringing him back to the game he loves

The former Hawks boss was all smiles at Kangaroos training on Wednesday as he prepares to coach the side for the first time in 11 weeks 

‘[Football] has been in my blood since I was a kid. I was hoping when I first stepped away that I hadn’t lost the appetite for footy, but for three or four weeks I was trying to work out whether I had – it soon returned and my appetite’s as strong as it’s ever been now.’

Clarkson, who will reach the 400-game coaching milestone when the Roos face Melbourne in Hobart, said he was extremely grateful to caretaker coach Brett Ratten and his family for their commitment to him and the Kangaroos.

‘For Ratts, and [wife] Jo and the extended Ratten family to just make the commitment to step in my absence, not knowing really in the initial stages if it was going to be one week, one month or one year … because I didn’t even know at that point of time,’ Clarkson said.

Clarkson said, ‘Jeez, I want to be involved in this kid’s career,’ when he saw Wardlaw play his first game of AFL footy 

Clarkson said he avoided contact with Ratten during his first few weeks away so his replacement would not feel he was being watched over his shoulder.

‘If I’m going to have a spell away from the game, it can’t be that he feels like I’m still controlling the club in any way,’ he said.

‘In the last four to six weeks, I’ve had some regular chats, and albeit we can’t see it in the wider football community just yet, but to those in the inner sanctum we can see some progress being made.

‘We know we’re still nowhere near good enough to compete with the really strong clubs in the competition, that will come with time … but we’re seeing some progress being made.’

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