Jaymie Graham will coach North Melbourne in 2027 after winning the race to fill the role vacated by Alastair Clarkson.
Graham, 43, gets the role after a modest playing career (37 games for West Coast from 2005 to 2008), but with a big reputation for his work as an assistant coach, most recently at Fremantle, who fell agonisingly close to winning this yearā€™s premiership.
Grahamā€™s appointment ā€“ confirmed by a source with knowledge of the matter but unable to publicly pre-empt the clubā€™s announcement ā€“ comes a day after Nathan Buckley removed his giant shadow from the Kangaroosā€™ coaching race by withdrawing himself from contention. It also comes on the opening day of the AFL trade period.
Graham has already coached three games at AFL level ā€“ one in 2018 when he was an assistant at West Coast and covered for Adam Simpson, and a further two in his maiden season at Fremantle (2022) when senior coach Justin Longmuir was grounded by COVID-19.
He made a presentation to North Melbourneā€™s coaching search panel in Melbourne on Saturday and was to present the clubā€™s board on Monday so that his appointment could be ratified.
The North Melbourne job is the third Graham has vied for this season. He missed out to Josh Fraser for the Carlton senior coaching role and to Mark McVeigh at Essendon, but might eventually consider himself fortunate given the depth of talent ā€“ and top-end draft picks ā€“ he will have to work with at Arden Street.
His looming appointment comes a month after the cold-blooded sacking of Clarkson, four years into a five-year contract. Although the Kangaroos notched just 20 wins from 81 games under the four-time premiership coach, 2026 was a near-breakthrough campaign, with nine wins from 23 games.
Club president Sonja Hood raised eyebrows in the media conference announcing Clarksonā€™s sacking by stating North needed a coach for the modern game.
North believed their young list had reached a point where it required a different voice and a coach suited to taking the group through the next phase of its development.
Buckleyā€™s withdrawal meant fellow first-timers Daniel Giansiracusa, David Hale and North assistant Xavier Clarke were the final contenders competing with Graham for the job.
After a season of coaching turmoil in which four positions were vacated, the role at the Brisbane Lions is now the only role to be filled. Chris Fagan confirmed his departure from the Lions last Thursday, days after a thrilling grand final win over Fremantle that secured the clubā€™s third consecutive premiership.
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Sam McClure is an award-winning AFL journalist and broadcaster.Connect via X or email.
Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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