Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Recently retired Collingwood premiership star Steele Sidebottom will have a say on who will become North Melbourne’s next senior coach after the Kangaroos unveiled their selection panel on Tuesday.
Sidebottom’s 375-game AFL career came to an end less than a fortnight ago when Collingwood lost their wildcard finals match to the Western Bulldogs in an after-the-siren thriller.
The 35-year-old has been named on a six-person selection panel to find the next Kangaroos coach following the club’s drama-charged decision to sack Alastair Clarkson with one year left on his contract.
Sidebottom will be joined on the panel by former North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow, Kangaroos chief executive Jennifer Watt, football manager Todd Viney, AFLW coach Darren Crocker and vice-president Nick Dowling.
North Melbourne say they are seeking candidates who have recent and relevant AFL coaching experience from successful environments and who can take the Kangaroos to their next premiership.
The Kangaroos were widely panned for the manner in which they sacked Clarkson.
The four-time premiership coach said North had danced on his grave and publicly humiliated him and his family in the way they explained the reasons behind his sacking.
Those reasons included North wanting to seek out a coach who can keep up with the modern game.
Viney also said there were some gaping holes in the club’s game plan under Clarkson, and that when Clarkson went into overdrive in an attempt to fix those issues, it led to “more meetings, more information, and players … becoming a bit more confused”.
Premiership coaches John Longmire and Adam Simpson have been floated as options to take over from Clarkson due to their stature as champion former North players.
But the recent success of first-time senior coaches including Steven King (Melbourne) and Josh Fraser (Carlton) could convince North to go with a fresh face.
Jaymie Graham (Fremantle) is one of the most highly-rated assistant coaches in the game, while Corey Enright (St Kilda) and James Kelly (Geelong) were also in contention for the Carlton job before Fraser’s hot results as interim boss made him the only choice for the Blues.
