North Melbourne senior coach Alastair Clarkson is believed to be nearing a return to the Roos helm.
Clarkson stepped away from the club for mental health and well-being reasons in May, amid the ongoing investigation into his involvement in the Hawthorn racism saga.
From Round 10, former St Kilda coach and Kangaroos assistant Brett Ratten stepped in as the interim coach.
Since Clarkson's departure, North Melbourne has continued to struggle and is still searching for its first win since Round 2.
It is understood to be unlikely that Clarkson will make his return for the Roos' Round 18 clash against the Hawks, due to his hesitance to promote the matchup in Round 3.
According to The Age, North's Round 19 clash against St Kilda presents a more suitable return date for Clarkson.
Speaking on Channel 9'sย Footy Classified, reporter Damian Barrett revealed Clarkson's return is imminent, having had conversations with the club over the past week.
"How it looks and how it plays out for both Alastair Clarkson and the North Melbourne footy club is yet to take shape," Barrett said.
"I would expect him to come back in and ease himself back โ two to three days maybe for that first week, a little bit more the second.
"Probably not coaching the team in his own right again until beyond that Hawthorn game (in Round 18). There was a reluctance from Alastair to promote the game they played against Hawthorn in Round 3, and I would be surprised if he wanted to subject himself to being coach again at that stage with that game so close on the calendar.
"It's almost a guarantee now he will be back coaching in his own right at some stage before the completion of the 2023 season."
Kangaroos President, Dr. Sonja Hood, confirmed to The Age that talks were underway for Clarkson's return to the club.
While Barrett expressed confidence in the imminent return of the four-time premiership coach, Ratten, who addressed the media on Thursday, stated he hadn't received an official Clarkson return update, but revealed they'd recently caught up.
"No, I haven't (received a Clarkson return update), I did catch up with him the other day for the first time (in a while), he was up and about, [had a] smile on [his] face, really positive," Ratten said.
"Whatever happens with Al, the transitioning in, is it slow? Is it medium? Is it quick? We don't know. What I do know is he'll coach the North Melbourne Football Club."
Probed further, Ratten listed a number of topics the pair discussed.
"We were just talking footy, we were just chatting, chatting about us, [the] trends of the game.
"We spoke for about an hour and a half, we just had a general chat, the progress of the kids (North's younger players), [it] puts a smile on 'Clarko's face."
Ratten also commented on whether Clarkson has had much influence at Arden Street since his temporary departure.
"He's been pretty much away (from the club) and it's been something we've done to let him stop thinking about footy, we haven't changed enormously (as a team), just a few tweaks here and there ... We're really just adhering to his game plan," said Ratten.
Finally, quizzed on if there's a situation that arises where Clarkson returns to the club in a background role with Ratten remaining at the head-coaching helm, the ex-Saints mentor responded: "I think they're all the questions we're still working through."
Clarkson signed a five-year deal with North Melbourne in his return to the top job.
