Longmire blasts Clarko
THE once watertight friendship between John Longmire and Alastair Clarkson has exploded again after the Sydney coach blasted his Hawthorn counterpart for snitching on the Swans to the boss of the AFL.
Clarkson organised a secret breakfast with AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan in Melbourne yesterday morning where he allegedly formalised claims he made after last Friday night’s loss to Sydney — that the Swans were “getting away with blue murder” in defence this season.
Longmire is livid that Clarkson requested the meeting and tried to put pressure on AFL administrators and, although he doesn’t blame McLachlan for attending, he asked the CEO for a please explain about what was said.
As players at North Melbourne for eight seasons, Longmire and Clarkson were the tightest of teammates and their families were close.
But it was widely speculated that their relationship was tested a couple of seasons ago when the Swans poached Lance Franklin from Hawthorn, a master signing that Clarkson struggled to get over.
Longmire said yesterday he had been exchanging text messages with Clarkson and then, in a passionate press conference, he accused his former teammate of rank hypocrisy for daring to question Sydney’s defensive tactics.
Clarkson reportedly had breakfast with McLachlan armed with replays on his lap- top to illustrate his point as to why Sydney’s defence should have free kicks blown against them, and Longmire pulled no punches when he described the tattling as inappropriate.
“Absolutely I was [shocked],” he said. “Particularly when you look at what Hawthorn do. Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s an important part of the game that Hawthorn are very, very good at.
“And it depends what lens you look through what the outcome can be. We’ve had a couple of exchanges and we can probably agree to disagree . . . there’s a time and a place to have those discussions, but when you’re in the heat of a season and particularly after a loss, I just don’t think it’s appropriate. The way he did that ... is unnecessary and unwarranted.”
Longmire said he applauded McLachlan’s approachability — that the AFL chief would agree to meetings with coaches at the drop of a hat.
But Clarkson had a hide to make such a request and go through vision with the chief executive in mid-season. “I spoke to Gil and asked what it was about. But it’s got nothing to do with Gil,” he said.
“Gil didn’t know what the chat was about.
“And I guess if any coach is going to speak to the CEO, I think that’s fantastic the CEO’s door is open …
“But I just think maybe the topics and how they were looked upon [by dobbing in] not just our players, I understand, but players from other clubs, is just probably not the time or place to do it.”