How a country footy star Clarkson took the AFL by storm

As Alistair Clarkson coached his final game in the brown and gold yesterday against Richmond there was one small community in Victoria’s west cheering him on.

Hawthorn’s senior coach grew up in Kaniva, surrounded by a tight-knit community that had sport close to its heart.

“My father was a builder and my mother was a kindergarten teacher, and we had the benefit of a really strong, sporting and farming community, and that’s what drove the culture of the town,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson also attributes his love of football to his “second father”, Oscar Harrison, who taught him to “yabby, shoot, and kick a footy”, and took him to his first VFL match, the 1977 Collingwood-North Melbourne grand final.

Where dreams began

“We went home with this signed blue and white footy, and that was really the start of it all for me, in terms of falling in love with the game, and so, for the next 10 years, I just endeavoured as best I could to somehow follow my dream of playing AFL footy, and finally got the chance, ironically, with North Melbourne,” he said.

Clarkson’s father had journeyed to Australia from England, and that adventurous spirit spurred his son on.

“Nor would I change the opportunities I had at 14 or 15, to board for three years at Ballarat … and to go and explore what’s available in this great, vast world of ours.”

Local farmer Tim Holland played for Leeor, an old rival of Kaniva back then, and remembers Clarkson’s character on and off the field.

“He’s very intense, and competitive, and he hated losing,” Mr Holland said.

“He was good at all sports, really: A gun cricketer and a very good footballer and he even played tennis … he’d play cricket, and then he’d come and beat all the tennis players.

“After the game, he’d shake hands on the field and then he’d come into the opposition rooms and shake hands with everyone, he was very passionate.”

Mr Holland shared many memories with Alistair — or ‘Addis’, as he was known around town.

“My sister was two years older than me and, as a youngster she couldn’t say Alistair, so she just said ‘Addistair’, which got shortened to ‘Addis’,” Clarkson said.

“There’s plenty in the district of Kaniva that only know me by that name … when I finally moved down to Melbourne, I escaped the nickname ‘Addis’, but whenever someone yells out ‘Addis’ now, I know exactly where they’re from.”

Two Wimmera men

Famously, Clarkson’s first goal in the VFL was one he kicked after the siren to win the game for North Melbourne.

But it was at Hawthorn where he spent the bulk of his career, leading the club to four premierships in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and becoming their most successful senior coach.

He achieved this with the help of David Rath, his assistant coach — who grew up just down the road, in Nhill.

The pair first met at a coaching course in 2003, at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, where Rath worked in biomechanics.

“Clarko, as he’s wont to do, found his way onto the course without actually being on the list of attendees,” Rath said.

“He just rocked up on the first Monday and just lobbed … and the guy who was running it just said, ‘OK, you can stay’.”

They crossed paths over the years, until Clarkson called Rath when he first joined Hawthorn with the opportunity of a lifetime, to become his assistant coach.

“That was a pretty bold move by Clarko,” Rath said, “because my background was not in footy

“But, I suppose, he was looking for someone with a different perspective, and that’s what I brought to the table, coming from a sports science background.”

Together, Clarkson, Rath, and the rest of the Hawthorn staff and players, fostered a space that encouraged experimentation.

“It was a really innovative environment and an environment where it was OK to risk things, in search of something better,” Clarkson said.

“We made plenty of mistakes along the way but we also landed on some things that helped us climb the ladder and helped us win some silverware.”

Best offence is defence

Taking inspiration from past AFL coaches and other sports, particularly soccer, Hawthorn gradually developed a zone defence style that became colloquially known as the “Clarkson cluster”, and helped them achieve a famous Premiership in 2008 over Geelong.

Zachary Baruhas co-creates a YouTube AFL analysis channel, called Footy A2Z, and said that strategy helped shape the modern game.

“The cluster was really an uncompromising zone that pressed really high and put an emphasis on winning the ball back as soon as possible, and just getting it into that super-talented forward line,” Baruhas said.

“It takes a pretty smart football brain to come up with the style that’s ultimately going to be the winning one.”

As Clarkson ends his journey with the Hawks, his eyes are on the future as much as the past.

“I’ve had a really fortunate opportunity to be married to this game for the best part of 45 years now and there’s an element of attachment to that when I step away,” Clarkson said, “but also another element of excitement, because I’ve been chasing that dream and living that dream.”

According to Mr Holland, the legacy of ‘Addis’ is already cemented in his hometown.

“He’d be one of Kaniva’s favourite sons, I’d say. He started from humble beginnings, and it just shows what you can do if you’ve got the determination and the willpower.”

Source: AFL NEWS ABC