Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has sprung to the defence of axed rival and close friend Alastair Clarkson, declaring the treatment of the four-time premiership champion as unfair.
North Melbourne shocked the AFL world when the Kangaroos revealed they would part ways with Clarkson after four seasons in charge in which they failed to reach the finals.
He had taken the reins of a team reeling on the back of consecutive wooden spoons.
On Wednesday, president Sonja Hood said: “having consulted widely across the club, it has become clear Alastair no longer has the belief from enough people at the club he is the right coach to take this group forward”.
When asked what the Kangaroos would seek in a new mentor, Hood said they needed “a coach that can coach for the modern game”.
“It’ll be a coach that knows what they’re doing, and it’ll be a coach who’s the best fit for this club.”
Fagan’s relationship with Clarkson dates back to their time with the Melbourne Demons in 1997. They worked together again at the Hawks, where they orchestrated four flag triumphs, in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Fagan, himself preparing to lead the Lions into a qualifying final against the Sydney Swans on Saturday, said he had attempted to call Clarkson on Wednesday night to no avail.
“It was a big shock to me. I actually thought ‘that can’t be right’ because I felt like under his guidance North had really started to improve, and we could all see their growth this year.
“It just reminded me of how tough coaching can be, when a bloke who’s been as successful as him as a coach can be jettisoned as quickly as that.
“I guess I just hope the feedback given in the press conference about him was given to him in person at some stage during the year so he had a chance to act on it. Feedback’s only good if you get it at the right time.
“I don’t know whether that was the case or not, but I just hope it was because it was a pretty fierce press conference, I reckon, with the way he was spoken about, and I reckon it was probably an unfair description of a man who has done an awful lot for footy.”
Fagan credited Clarkson with bestowing lessons that helped get him into the position he is today – a two-time premiership winner with Brisbane who will now take part in their eighth-straight finals campaign.
“He’s got great knowledge of the game, he’s a man who’s been dedicated to his profession, he set the trend in a whole lot of areas of coaching – particularly in his days at Hawthorn.
“I guess with his capacity to go overseas, learn from other codes, bring ideas back, [that] could be applied to the Hawthorn team’s situation and that led to an era where they won four premierships,” Fagan said.
“That was one of [the things he taught me]: keep looking for ideas, keep developing yourself professionally as a coach, don’t sit back and think you know everything.
“His honesty with his players [was another], he’s always very honest – sometimes brutally – but you always knew where you stood with him.”
While the Kangaroos continued to wallow in the doldrums of the AFL ladder, Fagan sensed they had turned a corner under Clarkson.
After managing 11 wins across his first three seasons with North Melbourne, they finished 14th in 2026 with nine victories.
“I would’ve liked to have seen him get a few more years at North to see if they could rise up. I felt like they might’ve been on the verge,” Fagan said.
“Hopefully, his work gets acknowledged if that does happen.”
There has been a strong suggestion that, after 21 seasons as a head coach, this would mark the end of Clarkson’s illustrious tenure.
Fagan said he hoped he would not be lost to the game, and he would continue seeking his advice in the future.
“I don’t know what he’ll do next – maybe he’ll become the media, I’d love to see that, he’s always had a testy relationship with people in the media,” Fagan said, with a laugh.
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