// North Melbourne great David King has called for his old side to give coach Alastair Clarkson the rest of the 2023 season off despite the champion leader recently returning to light duties with the Kangaroos. It comes after Clarkson made a comeback to Arden Street when the club released a statement at the end of June announcing that he would "return to the senior coaching role before the end of the current season". But King says the struggling Roos, who sit 17th on the AFL ladder after 17 rounds, need to give Clarkson more time to refresh for next year. READ MORE: Cummins shuts down question with two words READ MORE: Star's provocative gesture as Wimbledon crowd boos READ MORE: Bulldogs favourite calls time on football career "I just wonder whether they're better off saying, 'Alastair, take the year off, have the rest of the season off. Get yourself right, we'll see you day one next year, watch us from afar'," King told SEN. Clarkson stepped away from the club in mid-May due to the mounting toll of the Hawthorn investigations, with King suggesting that his quick return is not in the best interest of the Kangaroos. "There's nothing to be gained," King said. "He can be ready to make some trades, be ready to correct the list, all those sorts of things, and be ready to build the template of going forward and let's just cease this business of being on hold." King added his further hesitations in North Melbourne's decision making surrounding the "broken" game plan that has seen the team lose its last 14 matches and the last seven under interim coach Brett Ratten. "The game-plan, it's a bit of a mess. It's been uncompetitive for so long now. Is that because it's not really Ratts' (Ratten) plan and it's not really driven home, the standards aren't really there?" King asked. "I'd be re-programming Luke McDonald, give him a tagging role or throw him forward for a bit as a negating small forward, because it's a broken model down back." There have also been question marks raised around veterans of the Roos, and which leader ultimately makes the call at season's end. "Jack Ziebell, I love Jack, been an outstanding warrior, but if you can make the calls on Ben Cunnington and Todd Goldstein, you probably have to make it on Jack," King said. "But who makes those calls? Is it Brett Ratten? "The kids are trying hard, they've been very good. The senior core players probably letting things slide a bit, so who's correcting all that?" The struggling Kangaroos are looking for their third win of the season when they host 16th-placed Hawthorn on Sunday. For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here! North Melbourne great David King has called for his old side to give coach Alastair Clarkson the rest of the 2023 season off despite the champion leader recently returning to light duties with the Kangaroos. It comes after Clarkson made a comeback to Arden Street when the club released a statement at the end of June announcing that he would "return to the senior coaching role before the end of the current season". But King says the struggling Roos, who sit 17th on the AFL ladder after 17 rounds, need to give Clarkson more time to refresh for next year. READ MORE: Cummins shuts down question with two words READ MORE: Star's provocative gesture as Wimbledon crowd boos READ MORE: Bulldogs favourite calls time on football career "I just wonder whether they're better off saying, 'Alastair, take the year off, have the rest of the season off. Get yourself right, we'll see you day one next year, watch us from afar'," King told SEN. Clarkson stepped away from the club in mid-May due to the mounting toll of the Hawthorn investigations, with King suggesting that his quick return is not in the best interest of the Kangaroos. "There's nothing to be gained," King said. "He can be ready to make some trades, be ready to correct the list, all those sorts of things, and be ready to build the template of going forward and let's just cease this business of being on hold." King added his further hesitations in North Melbourne's decision making surrounding the "broken" game plan that has seen the team lose its last 14 matches and the last seven under interim coach Brett Ratten. "The game-plan, it's a bit of a mess. It's been uncompetitive for so long now. Is that because it's not really Ratts' (Ratten) plan and it's not really driven home, the standards aren't really there?" King asked. "I'd be re-programming Luke McDonald, give him a tagging role or throw him forward for a bit as a negating small forward, because it's a broken model down back." There have also been question marks raised around veterans of the Roos, and which leader ultimately makes the call at season's end. "Jack Ziebell, I love Jack, been an outstanding warrior, but if you can make the calls on Ben Cunnington and Todd Goldstein, you probably have to make it on Jack," King said. "But who makes those calls? Is it Brett Ratten? "The kids are trying hard, they've been very good. The senior core players probably letting things slide a bit, so who's correcting all that?" The struggling Kangaroos are looking for their third win of the season when they host 16th-placed Hawthorn on Sunday. For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here! https://ift.tt/PdSJBwn //
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