Has Clarko lost his confidence and swagger?

Alastair Clarkson’s demeanour in recent time suggests to Tim Watson that perhaps the hard-edged, in-your-face character the footy world once knew has lost some swagger.

The North Melbourne coach, in the eyes of Watson, has less confidence than he once had which could stem from all that occurred after his Hawthorn exit.

Clarkson has dealt with plenty through the Hawks racism saga as he attempts to rebuild the Kangaroos, and it might have impacted his attitude.

“I get the feeling that he just doesn’t appear to be the same confident Al Clarkson that he once was,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.

“I think he’s take some hits along the way, he’s taken a back step. He was really in-your-face, he was confident, he was all those things.

“What’s happened to him in the last couple of years because of the exit from Hawthorn and all that followed from that, the media attention he attracted over that period of time - I think it has taken a toll on him.”

Four-time flag-winning coach Clarkson was a guest on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Monday night alongside Brisbane premiership coach and his former Hawks assistant Chris Fagan.

He insisted that what he is doing at Arden Street is for the greater good of the club, even if some of the results would be frustrating to the success-starved Roos faithful.

“I’m trying my best and so is the group to get this club back off the canvas and get ourselves back up the ladder again,” Clarkson said.

“We think we’re on the right track, we’re disappointed that at different stages we have periods of games or a stretch of games where we don’t look like we’re making the progress that we’d like.

“I’m just backing myself in, just like ‘Fages’ did and what we did at Hawthorn, backing myself in which stood the test of time for a long period of time.

“I don’t know about the tactical side things, what I do know and I’m very confident in is setting the club up in the right environment to one day be able to climb the ladder.

“I know that Fages, myself and those who believe in that process haven’t lost our way in that space.”

In response to those words, Watson’s co-host Garry Lyon feels there remains in Clarkson a defiant edge.

So much so that he believes the Roos should start increasing expectations of themselves.

“There’s a defiance in that which I love. That’s the combative Clarkson I love,” said Lyon.

“If you’re a North Melbourne fan, what’s your expectation heading into Friday? Should we be putting a higher expectation on them?

“I’m just reading it how I see it. Talent-wise they’ve got enough talent through the middle of the ground, they’ve got a superb full-forward in Nick Larkey, they’ve got a defence now with Griffin Logue back, Charlie Comben as an interceptor.

“The depth through the middle says to me that you should be competing.”

Why the Roos should be favourites for Carlton clash

North Melbourne are beginning to field significant expectations as their list continues to develop.

Following six straight seasons of negative records, combining for just 16 wins since the start of the 2020 season, the Kangaroos’ rebuild has begun to show notable signs of success.

While the results are yet to appear on paper, a talented young core and patches of top-notch football suggest that the Roos under Alastair Clarkson are not far away from making a push up the ladder.

Their Gather Round performance against the Suns was a perfect example of where North Melbourne currently stand. Falling behind in the second term, the Kangaroos pulled back the 24-point deficit to boot eight of the next 10 goals, claiming the lead and remaining ahead until the 26-minute mark of the third term.

From that point, North managed just two goals, allowing the Suns to pull away to claim a substantial 52-point win.

With a Good Friday clash against the out-of-form Blues, Garry Lyon believes that, given their clear capability to play at the highest level, the Roos should enter the contest full of belief.

“The list now is getting to the stage where they have got every right to go into each game thinking they could win,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.

“They are competitive, they’re competitive again until they are not and that’s the question that’s being asked of (Clarkson).

“The win-loss is important for Kangaroos’ fans, I’m more concerned about what happens when the things fall apart a bit as it did against the Swans.

“They got split open and weren’t able to find a way to get through. I thought their performance against the Suns was first rate, right up until it wasn’t.

“Maybe it is part of the progression of having these kids in your team, and maybe it’s another 12 months, but they’ve got talent that is good enough to compete.”

While there remains significant progress to be made until North Melbourne can challenge the competition’s best, Lyon believes that the Kangaroos should be the favourites for their clash with the Blues.

“I don’t think (North Melbourne) are playing finals this year,” Lyon continued.

“But when big games come along, they’ve got to own that big moment. This is one on Good Friday, when everyone is watching against a team that is vulnerable.

“They should win this, North Melbourne, if they are progressing where they need to get to.

“As it stands for Friday's game, everyone should look at that and go ‘yeah, 100 per cent North should win this game.

“That’s an expectation that they should welcome, because that expectation hasn’t been there. We haven’t said that about North Melbourne for a long time.

“You go into this game, and you damn straight should be under pressure to win the game!”

Friday afternoon’s contest kicks off at 3:20pm, the first of a Good Friday double header.