GEORGIE PARKER: Damien Hardwick's AFL legacy grows at Suns as Clarkson's wanes at North

West Australian

6 days ago

Legacy is everything in the AFL. Clubs, player and coaches all pride themselves on it, and we have two coaches in the box seat to solidify their spot as the best we've had; Damien Hardwick and Alastair Clarkson.
Hardwick's Gold Coast Suns delivered a demolition job on Brisbane in the QClash, and suddenly (I assume) much to the AFL's relief, the years of patience and promise are finally paying off.
It's one win, sure, but the Suns are on their way to making finals for the first time and are putting their hand up as a team to watch on the verge of something special.
Hardwick has brought a ruthless edge, relevancy and even a sense of desirability to a club long known for under performing when it counts.
Premierships are hard to come by, and by no means do I think the Suns will win one this year, but when success does come he won't just be remembered as the architect of Richmond's dynasty. He'll be known as the man who made the Suns matter.
Contrast that with Clarkson at North Melbourne. The four-time premiership mastermind was supposed to bring hope, structure and progress.
But after almost two seasons, the Roos look no closer to anything resembling success. Is it the list? Is it fitness? Is it their mindset? Or, this feels almost sacrilegious to say given who I'm writing about, is it the coaching?
Right now, the direction is clear. If Dimma's Suns keep climbing, his legacy will stretch far beyond Tigerland. But if Clarkson can't get North out of the doldrums, the legacy that once looked unquestionable will always carry an asterisk.
The fixture debate has, once again, dominated the footy news cycle this week. Friday night blunders, overlapping match times, and prime-time-quality games being shoved into time slots usually reserved for the VFL.
But to me, there's a deeper issue here, one that goes beyond bounce down times, broadcast bias, and it's slowly strangling the growth of the game's smaller clubs.
The big clubs, Collingwood, Carlton and Essendon, dominate the free-to-air schedule. That's not a conspiracy; it's the AFL and its broadcasters chasing the biggest audience and advertising return.
But look at the facts: Essendon, a team that hasn't won a final in over 20 years, leads the league with 12 prime-time games.
Carlton, with more wooden spoons (five) than finals appearances (two) since 2000, follows closely with 1 1.
Collingwood (at least a genuine contender) sits third with 10.
I get it. Money talks. Broadcasters are footing the bill, and they want a say. But the trade-off is hurting the competition.
The clubs that get seen more, get supported more strongly. More screen time means more sponsorship, more kids in jumpers, more members, more marquee matches.
And in turn, more pull in recruiting players who want to play on the biggest stage. Think ANZAC Day, Dreamtime at the 'G, King's Birthday, these are all games that kids grow up dreaming about.
Meanwhile, smaller clubs, often stuck behind paywalls or buried in overlapping time slots are struggling just to get noticed, let alone attract players without paying massive overs for them.
This cycle feeds itself. The more invisible a club becomes, the harder it is to grow. It mirrors the same challenges women's sports have faced for decades: if you can't see it, you can't support it.
Maybe that's part of the reason why Collingwood has twice the number of members of North Melbourne, a team often playing in front of a three-quarters-empty Marvel Stadium with barely a free-to-air slot in sight.
Look, I'm not naive. I understand how the world works. But there's got to be a better balance.
Because if the AFL keeps handing the spotlight to the same few clubs, then the rest will never get a look in, and we need them to if want the league to maintain (or find again) the competitiveness that we desperately crave.