Alastair Clarkson set to meet North powerbrokers over potential return amid Hawthorn investigation
Alastair Clarkson is set to meet with North Melbourne officials to map out a potential return to the club after returning to Australia following a short stint abroad.
Clarkson touched down in Melbourne after meeting with Celtic coach Ange Postecoglou and spoke publicly on the impending investigation into historical allegations of mistreatment of First Nations players from his time at Hawthorn.
The four-time premiership winner has stood down from his post at North Melbourne for the time being, as has his former right-hand man, Brisbane Lions coachChris Fagan, with both men vehemently denying any allegations of wrongdoing.
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The AFL has released the terms of reference for the independent investigation into what took place at Hawthorn, and Clarkson said he, Fagan and former Hawthorn development manager Jason Burt were ready to talk.
“It’s taken a bit of time to get through that, but at least we’ve got a platform now from which we can get a chance to tell our side of the story,” he told 9News Melbourne.
“Fages (Fagan), myself and Jason have been through a tough time over the last four weeks.
“I’m just pleased they’ve been able to identify a platform in which we can reveal some of the truth behind this, and then we get on with it.”
Fagan’s return to Brisbane appears to be imminent
Clarkson said he would meet with North in the coming days to determine his own future.
“I just need to speak with our lawyers and also the AFL and the club,” he said.
“I’ve been away for the last 10 days so I haven’t been across everything that’s gone on here, including the terms of reference. I’ll sit down with the club over the next two or three days and just work out where it all goes from here.
“The bottom line is our most significant commitment that we need to address in the next little while is obviously the investigation.
“Fages (Fagan), Jason and myself always said right from the get-go that we’d co-operate fully with whatever the AFL put in place, and we intend to do that.
“If somewhere along the line we get the opportunity to return to work, that’ll be great as well, but our priority is to make sure that we co-operate with the investigation.”
Clarkson was initially set to resume his stint at North Melbourne on November 1, before being stood down indefinitely pending the investigation.
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