North Melbourne parts ways with senior coach Alastair Clarkson

NORTH Melbourne has sacked senior coach Alastair Clarkson with a year remaining on his contract.

In a stunning development, North players were called to an emergency meeting at Arden Street on Wednesday morning, where they were told that Clarkson would no longer coach the club.

North Melbourne president Sonja Hood and general manager of football Todd Viney will address the media at 2pm AEST.

Clarkson has been in charge of the Roos since 2023, winning just 20 of his 82 games in charge, including nine this season.

The former North Melbourne player came to Arden Street after 17 years coaching at Hawthorn, where he guided the club to four premierships and a 58.8 per cent winning record.

Clarkson said in early August that he wasn't in a hurry to push for an extension of his current five-year contract at North, saying "all I require is a handshake and a wink and a nod, and that'll do me".

"I'm really here to serve the footy club ... it's not just me, but those that are in leadership positions at the club have done a really good job stabilising the footy club," Clarkson said ahead of North Melbourne's eventual win over the Western Bulldogs in round 22.

"We're really keen to progress and get ourselves up the ladder, but all we do know is that that's done best when you've got stability."

North will become the third club with a new senior coach in 2027 after Essendon appointed Mark McVeigh to replace Brad Scott, and Carlton signed interim coach Josh Fraser on a permanent basis after parting ways with Michael Voss.

Clarkson was appointed in August 2022, coming in after previous coach David Noble had won just five of his 38 games at the helm.

But early success proved elusive for the master coach. North won three games in each of his first two seasons, although Clarkson took leave for several weeks in 2023 as he dealt with the Hawthorn racism investigation.

Five wins and a draw came in 2025, while this season brought nine wins - but only one over a finals contender (against the Bulldogs).

More to come

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