COOK’S FIRST JOB AT BLUES IS TO GET CLARKO

MASTER administrator Brian Cook’s first job as Carlton CEO will be to help find a new coach to replace the sacked David Teague.

The Blues landed the former Geelong and West Coast official on Friday afternoon and signed him to a three-year deal.

Cook’s appointment will reignite Carlton’s hopes that it can lure fourtime premiership Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson to Princes Park.

Following his departure from Hawthorn, Clarkson has continually said he would be stepping away from the game for 12 months to concentrate on overseas study. He was also said to have been concerned at the club’s lack of off-field stability.

In his time as a club CEO, Cook has overseen five premierships and eight grand finals at West Coast and Geelong. He is being replaced at GMHBA Stadium by ex-AFL football boss Steven Hocking.

The Blues have been in a state of upheaval since the tabling of an exernal review at the end of the 2021 season.

The report, overseen by new president Luke Sayers, resulted in the sacking of two-year coach Teague at the season’s end and saw the club axe CEO Cain Liddle last Friday.

The board decided that, under Liddle’s leadership, the Blues had not closed the gap between significant financial gains off the field and poor performances on the field.

“We are entering a reset phase for our football club and, while we have built a strong platform in a business sense, the ability to ensure our on-field position matches our off-field one is an area that must be addressed,” Carlton president Luke Sayers said.