Clarko disappointed by AFL’s comments on Curtis ban

• Clarkson was questioned on Kane Cornes post-game
• This week North banned Cornes from their rooms
• Clarkson limited his comments on the issue

North Melbourne have fallen agonisingly short, losing a thriller to Essendon by three points at Marvel Stadium.

After what was a chaotic week in the media, the Kangaroos were the centre of attention in the contest, with many eyes focusing on specific players and the team as a whole.

With controversy surrounding Kane Cornes' mid-week comments, to the three-week suspension on Paul Curtis, the football world most certainly revolved around North Melbourne in the lead-up to their prime-time clash.

Earlier this week, after he criticsed both Harry Sheezel and captain Jy Simpkin, Cornes was told he was no longer allowed to take part in Channel 7's pre-match interview with Clarkson after club's GM Todd Viney said the Roos would refuse to engage with the commentator on ‘any of his media channels’.

Following the Kangaroos' spirited loss to the Bombers, Clarkson was questioned on the whirlwind, expressing his pride in the forward steps his team have taken in recent weeks while referring to the criticism from the media.

"The football world wants to judge us on our wins and losses," he said in his post-game press conference.

"Were making some progress as a footy side.

"I thought (Sheezel and Simpkin) played some good footy for us. Both of them have been pretty good for us this year, particularly Harry. Would we like to play him midfield and forward a little bit? Yes.

"He won a Best and Fairest off the half-back. (It's) hard to have score involvements when you play at half-back flank.

"We just need guys that use the ball really well. Winning requires no explanation, but when you lose you need to justify everything.

"If we keep applying ourselves in the way that we did, a win is not far away."

In discussing the message passed down to the club, Clarkson remained adamant that the young list doesn't need outside noise for motivation.

"Play footy," he continued.

"We don't need outside things to motivate us to play.

"That's short lived, you can't manufacture that to play every week."

Clarkson refused to over-comment on the issue, stating that the removal of Cornes from the rooms was not forwarded to the team by the coach himself.

"I didn't tell them," he said firmly.

"It didn't come from me."

After falling victim to Cornes' criticism, young star Sheezel finished the contest with a team-high 32 disposals and five tackles, while skipper Simpkin managed 21 and two goals.

Clarkson also spoke on the suspension of forward Paul Curtis.

In his absence, North Melbourne could only amass 62 points, with six different goal scorers on the night.

The AFL's Laura Kane made comments on SEN's Whateley earlier in the week suggesting there may be a change of suspension severity ahead of 2026 for similar tackles.

EXCLUSIVE | Laura Kane on Curtis, MRO matrix, red cards & more

Clarkson could not quite work out why the alterations wouldn't be made now.

"It doesn't make sense that the AFL come out and say, 'Oh we might change that at the end of the year'," added Clarko.

"It doesn't help us. We're really disappointed with that, really disappointed.

"Really strong leadership would say, 'We understand it's wrong and we'll change it right now'.

"He shouldn't be missing three weeks.

"In my view, he's nearly the best tackler in the competition. It's a shame that that part of our game is getting questioned, it's a feature of our game.

"We understand there's a duty of care, but there's a duty of care to the game."

The Roos, with a 1-7 record, travel to Hobart to host the Brisbane Lions next Sunday afternoon.