Following a disappointing 13th finish season in 2020, Hawthorn coach Alistair Clarkson has revealed the warning he issued his playing list prior to their summer break on the popular podcast Dyl and Friends.
Prior to entering his 17th season in the role, the mastermind commander explained that by educating his players to make safe decisions when left to their own devices, it would play a big role in the Hawks soaring back up the ladder in 2021.
In a rare open interview conducted by former Carlton and GWS player, Dylan Buckley, Clarkson stated that his tough love motto for steering clear of off-season "landmines" and "pitfalls" involved 'Four Ps'.
"Within our club โ and it's now become outside of our club โ we talk about the four Ps, which is the piss, the punt, the penis and the powder,โ Clarkson explained.
โAnd where there's strife in anyone's life, by and large, one of those four is going to get you.
โOne of them is illegal but three of them are legal. So certainly the legal ones, well, you're allowed to have a punt and you're allowed to go out and have a drink and you're allowed to spend time with a lady or male partner.
"But if you do those things excessively and foolishly then you're going to find yourself in a little bit of trouble.โ
The revelation of the master coach's tough love mantra have come in the wake of an off-season that saw former number one draft picks Jonathon Patton and Tom Scully stood down from the club and retire respectively.
Patton, 27, will remain away from the club's training base at Waverley until an AFL investigation into his history of allegedly obscene messaging has concluded.
Despite the bumps already endured this off-season, Clarkson expressed to Buckley and his listeners that during their breaks, the onus was on his players to make the right calls when entering morally ambiguous situations.
โWe talk about our guys on a regular basis โ and not always me to the players and the players to me, sometimes just break in groups and have a chat about where in this next two or three weeks you might find yourself in a vulnerable position and think about it before you go into the scenario, rather than reflect afterwards," the veteran coach said.
"Because the reflecting afterwards might be a different scenario than actually giving it some thought beforehand.
Clarkson, the AFL's longest serving current coach, explained that it was this foresight rather than hindsight that is likely to lead to positive outcomes - especially when pertaining to "the piss".
โThat includes if you're going to have a drink, are you going to drive. If you're going to an environment with mates, who are the mates, do they understand the footy environment, do they understand your professionalism, the background โฆ what you do and what your expectations are?
At 52, Clarkson leant into his experiences as a son, brother, husband, father and former player when creating his credo.
โWe're dealing with young men, they're not going to get it right all the time,โ he said.
"We know that there's mistakes to be made โ and many make them, including me. I've made plenty over my journey.
"But what we try to do now is pass on our wisdom of the mistakes that we've made and hope that we can prepare our guys as best we can to avoid some of them.
โThere's pitfalls everywhere, but by and large, it's held us in pretty good stead.
looks on during the round 14 AFL match between the Sydney Swans and the Hawthorn Hawks at the Sydney Cricket Ground on June 21, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Well versed on how intoxication can both impair decision making and ruin lives, Clarkson revealed the devastation that poor decision making can cause when he spoke about the loss of his brother some 36-years-ago.
Clarkson's older brother, Andrew, was just 24 when he perished in a drink driving accident in June of 1984.
โThat smacked the family around big time,โ the Hawks coach said.
โI don't want to dismiss it because it was such a huge impact on our family, but you learn to try to develop reason out of these things and just understand that it's all part of the journey."
Waxing philosophically, the former Kangaroo and Demon explained to Buckley that his mantra applied beyond the boundary line as well.
โThere's hurdles to overcome everywhere and that's probably the thing that I can bring, particularly at my age now as a coach.
"It's this empathy as a father figure to a lot of these players now that you understand the pitfalls of life not just the pitfalls of footy.
โThe pitfalls of footy are even more significant because of the public nature of the game, the expectation, the popularity of the game โฆ it's a very difficult game to play.
"That puts added pressure on young men, so how can you alleviate some of that pressure?
Seen by many as an 'old school' coach, the Kaniva born coach expressed that empathy and tough love can still work hand in hand.
"If you do stuff up, I'm here to put my arm around you, sometimes a kick up the arse and a slap across the earhole, but sometimes also a nurturing cuddle to say listen it's going to be OK we'll get through this.โ
Although renowned for his sternness and aggression, Clarkson assured that not all of the lessons are taught with a straight face.
โWe have a bit of fun with it too.
"It also just normalises it a little bit because what these young lads are going through โฆ whatever's been transgressed has probably been transgressed in my family. So I just try and pass on, as best I can, the wisdom of our ways.โ
Hawthorn will kick off the season against round one opponents Essendon at Marvel Stadium on March 20.
