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Find your Sport Nation frequency“Don’t treat us like fools”: Kangaroos great’s warning for Clarkson
Andrew Slevison • April 7th, 2025 11:53 am
North Melbourne great David King has taken aim at Alastair Clarkson for comments made in his post-match press conference on Saturday night.
After the Kangaroos lost to Sydney by 65 points at Marvel Stadium, Clarkson pointed to the fact that the Swans played in the Grand Final last season.
“To their credit, they’re a very good side,” Clarkson told reporters.
“They made a Grand Final last year, and were the best side really for the bulk of the year. They’ve been a very good side for a reason.”
But King wasn’t having that excuse.
He felt the Sydney side fielded by Dean Cox was much weaker than last year’s Grand Final lineup, urging Clarkson not to treat Roos fans like fools with such explanations.
“Nightmare on Arden Street,” said King when describing the loss on SEN Breakfast.
“For Alastair Clarkson to reference the Sydney Swans Grand Final team is just a complete nonsense.
“They had eight players out of the Grand Final team and these are the guys that come in - (Riley) Bice, (Sam) Wicks, (Peter) Ladhams, (Tom) Hanily, (Caiden) Cleary, (Angus) Sheldrick, Corey Warner and (Joel) Hamling. Not one of those guys would have made them any better on Grand Final day.
“This is effectively a VFL team with three or four stars tacked on. Guys like (Tom) McCartin, (James) Rowbottom, (Isaac) Heeney and Chad Warner. They won with less, the Sydney Swans.
“I think the messaging from the Kangaroos has got to be honest and clear. They’ll still turn up, the faithful are passionate, but don’t lie to them.
“Don’t treat them like fools because if they turn it will get real ugly.”
King further warned Clarkson around his messaging.
After an “uncompetitive” defensive showing, the two-time premiership Roo had a word of warning for the four-time premiership coach: “Don’t treat us like fools”.
“I just think you’ve got to be careful with your messaging,” he continued.
“To suggest that we played the all-conquering Grand Final team of last year is not right. That’s just having a lend of us.
“I just think it’s a really disappointing performance. They (the Swans) still scored (almost) 120 points and moved the ball at will.
“It was an uncompetitive performance from a defensive point of view and still we’re yet to see any defensive stability.
“I think the North people are saying, ‘How can we go and watch St Kilda on the road do that? How can we go and watch Richmond building so quickly and do what they did against the Brisbane Lions? How can we watch lesser teams perform better than what North Melbourne are with those elite draft picks?’
“Questions are being asked by the fans. That’s not going to create any waves, but don’t give us waffle and spin and lies in the post-match and treat us like fools.”
With this in mind, Kane Cornes wondered if the club would be putting plans in place to contact King’s old teammate Adam Simpson.
The West Coast premiership coach has previously been linked with an Arden Street return and Cornes floated the possibility of a possible homecoming.
"Do you feel that tide is starting to shift against the coach?” Cornes asked.
“Adam Simpson is sort of waiting there. There was a clip on social media about him saying he’s a North Melbourne person.
“How long before that call is made to Adam Simpson? Do you think that call will be made?”
King replied: “I don’t think so, no.
“As Gerard Whateley likes to say, it’s not pressure to keep your job, it’s pressure to do the job. And there’s a difference.
“But I do think he (Clarkson) has to show us that defensively he can get it done. If Ross Lyon was in charge of the Kangaroos, would they be a better defensive outfit right now?”
Cornes said: “Yes, they would be.”
The 1-3 Roos will look to bounce back from the heavy Swans defeat when they meet the unbeaten Gold Coast Suns at Barossa Park during Gather Round this Saturday.
