Coaches Under the Pump: Early Season Pressure Mounts for AFL Mentors
The Australian Football League (AFL) season is barely a fortnight old, yet three of the game’s most experienced senior coaches are already feeling the intense heat of expectation. Alastair Clarkson at North Melbourne, Brad Scott at Essendon, and Michael Voss at Carlton all entered 2026 carrying significant pressure, but the early rounds have amplified those concerns considerably.
What links these three prominent figures? They are all embarking on their second stints as senior AFL coaches, and all are at Victorian clubs with a shared history of being starved of recent premiership success. Their resumes are impressive: Clarkson famously steered Hawthorn to four flags, Scott guided North Melbourne to two preliminary finals, and Voss had a head coaching role at Brisbane before serving as Ken Hinkley’s right-hand man at Port Adelaide. However, their current situations, while sharing a common thread of scrutiny, are distinct and driven by differing circumstances. All three will likely be fighting to secure their futures beyond 2026, but the specific reasons for this battle vary.
Essendon’s Struggles and Scott’s Tightening Grip
Brad Scott’s Bombers have endured a winless start to the season, failing to register a victory since May of the previous year. While this dire statistic might suggest widespread criticism, Essendon has largely been shielded from the harshest scrutiny due to an extraordinary run of injuries that plagued the club throughout 2025. The Bombers haven’t participated in the finals since 2021, two years before Scott took the reins, and despite ongoing list regeneration and rebuilding efforts, the team has been sputtering for a considerable period.
The situation was further complicated when then-captain Zach Merrett attempted to force a trade move during the off-season. Now, the club has commenced the 2026 season with two demoralising 10-goal losses, prompting Scott himself to publicly call out the group’s perceived lack of effort. Essendon now finds itself in a similar position to Richmond, both considered joint favourites for the coveted wooden spoon. Merrett, in particular, might be questioning his decision to remain at the club, given the pre-season hopes that suggested a potential wildcard round berth. Scott’s decade-long tenure at North Melbourne, where he achieved a respectable 50-50 win-loss record before departing in 2019, coupled with his brief period at AFL House, initially made him an attractive proposition for the Bombers. However, the goodwill with the passionate Essendon fanbase appears to be waning. If the team fails to become competitive soon, the club might find itself at a critical juncture later in the season. While the new CEO, Andrew Welsh, will be reluctant to make a mid-season coaching change, especially with Scott contracted until 2027, the upcoming clash against North Melbourne in round three, where the Bombers are the underdogs, looms as a crucial contest. The loser of this match will face significant added pressure.
North Melbourne’s Rebuild and Clarkson’s Challenge
Speaking of the Kangaroos, any positive momentum gained from their round one victory over Port Adelaide was swiftly extinguished by a loss to the reigning wooden spooners, West Coast. Both North Melbourne and West Coast have been fixtures at the bottom of the ladder for much of the 2020s. However, with North Melbourne possessing what is considered more advanced young talent, the expectation was that the Roos would have begun to pull away from the Eagles in 2026. This has not yet materialised.
Clarkson’s departure from Hawthorn, following a highly successful four-premiership reign, in favour of his protégé Sam Mitchell, saw North Melbourne’s acquisition of his signature hailed as a potential turning point for the club’s fortunes. However, the sheer scale of the rebuild undertaken by the Kangaroos has meant that Clarkson has only managed to secure 12 wins since taking over in 2023. Questions are now being raised about Clarkson’s capacity to develop the young playing group and his ability to adapt to the evolving tactical landscape of the game.
Unlike Essendon, no one anticipated North Melbourne playing finals in 2026, and they do have a win on the board. Nevertheless, the sobering reality of their loss to West Coast serves as a stark reminder that the team has not yet made the anticipated leap forward. Clarkson has yet to replicate the transformative magic he brought to Hawthorn at this stage of his tenure with the Kangaroos. These concerns will undoubtedly intensify if he cannot steer the group away from the bottom four positions. Saturday’s upcoming fixture against Essendon presents a significant nexus point for both Brad Scott and Alastair Clarkson, with considerable pressure riding on the outcome.
Carlton’s Contract Cliff and Voss’s Uncertain Future
In contrast to Scott and Clarkson, Michael Voss is out of contract at Carlton at the end of the 2026 season, a factor that injects an added layer of urgency into his situation. The Blues were fortunate not to enter their early bye with a 0-2 record, having managed just one goal for an entire hour of play in one of their recent matches. However, they did secure a win in round one by holding on against Richmond.
Carlton’s struggles to consistently score in the second halves of games have been a persistent issue since Voss took over in 2022. The club has appeared tactically stuck in a mire since reaching the preliminary final in 2023. Carlton made the surprising decision to re-sign the senior coach late in the 2025 season, backing him despite a noticeable dip in the club’s on-field performance over the preceding 18 months. This trend appears to have continued into the 2026 season, which feels like a transitional year where the Blues are focused on integrating emerging talent and moving on from some of the veteran stalwarts of the Voss era.
The Brisbane legend’s future at Carlton will undoubtedly be a key talking point this year. If the team continues to falter on the field, particularly during the challenging upcoming fortnight against Melbourne and North Melbourne, the situation could deteriorate rapidly. Few fan bases possess the ability to amplify external pressure as intensely as the Carlton faithful. While the club has historically been reluctant to sack coaches mid-season, it remains an aspect that will be closely monitored throughout the year.
