He is interested in coaching again after spending a year out of the game investing in his development with overseas trips to the USA and UK. However, he also has other projects on the go if the right opportunity does not present in 2023.

Clarkson has been a key person behind the bid for a licence for a standalone team in Tasmania and remains, despite his 12-month sabbatical, the biggest coaching name in the game.

Former Australian test cricket captain Ricky Ponting – who shares the same manager as Clarkson – said on a podcast this week he believed the 54-year-old was the right man for the Kangaroos.

Ponting, a North Melbourne supporter, said it would be smart for the club to pursue Clarkson heavily given they found themselves anchored at the bottom of the ladder.

“[He’s] the best coach in the AFL for the last 10 or 12 years, there’s a lot worse decisions you could make than to go flat out to try and bring someone like him back to where it all began,” Ponting was reported to have said on The Believers: Tasmania’s AFL Journey podcast.

Club great Wayne Carey also threw his support behind all-out pursuit of Clarkson.

“They need really strong leadership ... and someone to stand up and make strong decisions and make the right decisions for the football club,” the dual Kangaroos premiership captain told Triple M on Wednesday.

“Alastair Clarkson is obviously the right man for the job; he gives the club automatic credibility.

“They need relevance and we need someone who can be the front person for that footy club.

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“Sonja’s new in the job [as club president], and I think she’s doing a terrific job, starting to speak more and be a little bit more outspoken, which is great.

“If they can land ‘Clarko’, I think it appeases a lot of people.”

North Melbourne’s board met last Wednesday where they heard feedback from respected administrator Geoff Walsh who has been hired to conduct a review of the club’s football department.

with Roy Ward, AAP