Brett Ratten took to planting Japanese maple bushes after his shock sacking from St Kilda however the skilled coach now feels able to step again into the AFL scorching seat.
The former champion Carlton midfielder will coach a 3rd AFL membership, main North Melbourne after Alastair Clarkson took a go away of absence as a result of ongoing toll of the Hawthorn racism saga.
The 51-year-old might take his choose of accessible assistant jobs after leaving St Kilda, however elected to crew up with Clarkson after the pair beforehand labored collectively through the Hawks’ golden period.
Ratten joined the Kangaroos on a part-time foundation to work with their younger midfield group.
But after Clarkson’s shock choice to step away from Arden St, Ratten shall be answerable for North for the foreseeable future.
Ratten didn’t wish to immediately tackle his dramatic exit from the Saints final October, brutally axed lower than 100 days after signing a brand new two-year contract, saying “it’s been and gone”.
But he did admit to needing a while off from the sport he loves.
Accepting a three-day-a-week position below Clarkson, who he labored with throughout Hawthorn’s 2013-15 premiership three-peat, suited him.
“Having gone through what I’ve gone through, I just needed a bit of breathing space to sit there away from the day-to-day of AFL footy, just to do something a little bit different,” Ratten mentioned on Friday.
“I put 3000 Japanese maples in a mate’s farm, and I’ve got on order another 3000 but I might struggle to get them in, I reckon with this new role.
“It’s my 18th yr of teaching … I used to be joyful to be part of it.
“What’s happened now, Al is not well, his wellbeing is at the forefront of everybody and I’m just the person that’s standing here at the moment. He’ll be back and taking over the reins.”
When quizzed if he would think about turning into a full-time head coach once more, including to his time at Carlton from 2007 to 2012 and St Kilda between 2019 and 2022, Ratten mentioned “never say never”.
“It’s probably 100-1, 1000-1, maybe a million-to-one. I’m not even thinking about that,” he replied.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
