Then,asked categorically by Riewoldt if he’d entertain being the first coach of the inaugural Tasmanian AFL side - particularly if his great mates,and local products,Brisbane Lions coach Fagan orBrendon Bolton were also involved - Clarkson gave his strongest indication yet that “without a doubt” he’d be interested.
“From this far out,if I was unemployed like I am now I’d be putting my hand up big time to get involved in such an exciting venture,” he said.
Clarkson was strongly linked with the then vacant Collingwood and Carlton roles since his departure from Hawthorn.
But he recently revealed on Fox Footy’sAFL 360 that he’d toldincoming Blues CEO Brian Cook he was sticking to his decision to not be a senior coach in 2022.
“If there was perhaps a big club that you wanted to coach,Richmond,Essendon,Collingwood,[and] Carlton are the clubs but the timing just wasn’t right for me,” Clarkson said.
“I’d been doing it for 17 years...most senior coaches,they’ve only got two gears - it’s flatout,and stop. I haven’t really sat in second or third gear for a long period of time.”
Clarkson said he wanted to undertake some overseas study and explore other ways of giving back to the game.