By Marc McGowan and Andrew Wu
Alastair Clarkson says he will have to “reinvent himself” after copping a $20,000 fine for his expletive-laden quarter-time outburst at St Kilda footballers last weekend.
North Melbourne’s coach, a four-time premiership winner while previously in charge of Hawthorn, will also be suspended for two games if he re-offends before the end of next year.
The AFL announced Clarkson’s penalty on Friday after issuing him with a “please explain” on Monday, in reaction to him allegedly using the word “c---sucker” during a verbal tirade towards Jimmy Webster after the Saint’s bump on Jy Simpkin.
Alastair Clarkson copped a significant penalty for his quarter-time outburst at St Kilda players.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
Another St Kilda footballer, Dougal Howard, was also involved in the interaction with Clarkson.
Clarkson, who has accumulated a lengthy rap sheet across his coaching career, said this was a “significant reflective moment” for him. He has also apologised to Saints coach Ross Lyon, Webster and Howard for his behaviour.
Clarkson accepted the league’s sanction in a snap press conference on Friday, away from North Melbourne headquarters after the penalty was announced.
“I’m probably going to have to reinvent myself a little bit as a coach,” he said.
“That tribalism and passion, which strangely enough is what our game’s built on, that’s been a key part of my coaching for a long, long period of time. Usually, I get embroiled in these situations when there’s a significant amount of emotion, or I’m trying to protect either a club or a player or myself or my family.
“I’ve been involved in these sorts of things before, we know that, there’s a history sheet of that, and each time it’s happened I’ve pulled myself just below the line again.”
The league found Clarkson, 55, guilty of breaching AFL rule 2.3(a), which is conduct unbecoming, and his wholly suspended two-match sanction would be triggered if he breaches that rule again between now and the end of the 2025 season.
There is the potential of an additional fine on top in that scenario as well.
Clarkson must also attend league-approved pride in sport training, while the fine will not be included in the Kangaroos’ soft cap.
The veteran coach also denied that there was homophobic intent behind his comments.
“No [there wasn’t] and I’ve spoken to the AFL about that,” Clarkson said. “And I’ve spoken to the two St Kilda players.
“There was no [homophobic] intent in that regard, and everyone involved in [the altercation] has acknowledged that.”
The AFL’s sanction considered that the four-time premiership coach had apologised for his actions at the start of the week and acknowledged his conduct was inappropriate and unnecessary. Clarkson also showed a desire to seek help to develop strategies to manage his behaviour.
The AFL’s general counsel Stephen Meade said Clarkson’s behaviour was unacceptable and not what was expected of any senior coach, particularly one of his experience.
“While we understand there are emotions attached to the heat of the contest, engaging with an opposition player during the quarter-time break and then using language that is both unacceptable and highly inappropriate is something the AFL does not want in the game,” Meade said.
The league has typically made strong stances on coaches who approached opponents during breaks in play, in large part because of the example it set for grassroots competitions.
Geelong’s Chris Scott was the most-recent coach penalised for such an offence, after an exchange of words with Brisbane Lions players at quarter-time of a match in 2021. He received a suspended fine of $10,000.
Webster received a seven-match suspension on Tuesday night after leaving the ground to hit Simpkin, who was concussed in the incident, which occurred in the clubs’ Community Series clash last Sunday.
North Melbourne have already ruled out their co-captain from next week’s round one match against the Giants in Sydney.