‘What hope is there for the rest of us?’ Scott hits back at Roos in strong Clarko defence

Chris Scott has questioned the handling of Alastair Clarkson’s sacking from North Melbourne that “aired all the dirty laundry publicly” in a strong defence of the coaching great.

Clarkson was last week axed by the Kangaroos with another year to run on his contract in an ugly split, with the four-time premiership coach left “blindsided” and “humiliated,” saying club bosses “danced on my grave.”

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In a candid press conference, North president Sonja Hood and footy boss Todd Viney cited feedback from players and staff that Clarkson “no longer had the belief” of enough people at Arden Street and his inability to coach the modern game as reasons to cut ties.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Monday night, Scott suggested Clarkson was treated poorly on the way out as one of the game’s most iconic figures, and too often coaches are used as the scapegoat.

“I think it was (a rough week for the profession). I often heard it’s a lonely existence and weeks like this remind me of that. Because it feels like you don’t have many people advocating on our behalf,” Scott said.

“It’s really difficult for us as outsiders, even understanding the job better than most. It’s impossible to look inside another football club and have an opinion on whether that club made the right decision or not.

“But I think all coaches everywhere would say: ‘If you treat Alastair Clarkson like that, what hope is there for the rest of us?’

“And I don’t think that’s a good environment to operate in.”

It took Scott back to his early days at Geelong when he was 34 and “unprepared for the job.”

A joke from long-time football administrator Neil Balme during Scott’s first pre-season in 2011 on how the Cats would take responsibility for results made him feel like he had full support of the club.

“Neil Balme said to me: ‘Don’t worry, mate. If this doesn’t work out, it’s not your fault, it’ll be our fault’. It was a bit of a gag to make me feel a bit better about myself. But I actually took it as a message that: ‘No, it is all of us. And if it doesn’t work out, we will take responsibility as well’,” Scott said.

The Geelong coach says he was “so fortunate” when the club appointed him because they “had a clear view of what they wanted” and “didn’t benchmark the rest of the competition” to chase a trend.

“They assessed their situation, made their decision based on that assessment and supported me as well as a young coach could possibly hope to be supported,” he said.

“I’d like to think when my time is over, they’ll keep the really savage criticism to a private conversation. And I’d like to think, in reverse, I’d thank them for the opportunity they gave me. Even though, I’m sure, when I do get the bullet, I’ll have a bit of the proverbial on my liver.”

But in other cases, Scott believes “it’s too easy to put all the blame on a coach” and “especially with someone that’s proven (himself) beyond a shadow of a doubt” like Clarkson.

“Whatever you think of him, I think he deserves the respect not to have all of the dirty laundry aired publicly. That’s not to comment on the decision at all,” the Cats boss added.

“I think it’s possible that maybe them trying to explain the situation as well as they possibly could, they went a little bit further than they intended to. And perhaps there’s an opportunity to say: ‘Hang on, we didn’t quite mean it that way’.

“But certainly, and I have a dog in the fight ... all the coaches do. I think we sat there thinking: ‘Really? Was it all him?’

“Because there were a lot of things that have happened over the journey that I’m sure weren’t his decisions. We get it, we’ll sort of have to take the bullet at the end of the day when things don’t work out.”

Clarkson’s dismissal prompted conversations around old-school v new-school coaching and who’s at the cutting edge.

But Scott, the current longest-serving coach in the AFL after taking the reins at Geelong at the end of 2010, thinks old adages and new ideas are equally important.

“There are really lazy conclusions that can be made based on age or experience,” Scott said.

“Craig McRae is older than I am but he’s coached fewer games than I have. How do you classify him?

“It’s very possible that you have young, Luddite coaches who are still thinking about olden days footy. But you can have old visionaries as well, I sort of put Chris Fagan in that category.

“So, I think the framing really should go to the individual situation. If you get swept up with the tide of popular opinion and go with the new, latest idea, I think you’re likely to make an error.”

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