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Clarkson blasts Carey over AFL comments

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is furious after Wayne Carey claimed star Cyril Rioli is homesick.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is furious after Wayne Carey claimed star Cyril Rioli is homesick. (AAP)

Hawthorn coach is furious at Wayne Carey, claiming the prominent AFL commentator's claims about Cyril Rioli are a lot of rubbish and "bull----".

Clarkson was asked about Rioli after the Hawks star had his best game of the season in Sunday's 51-point win over West Coast.

The Hawks coach cut short the question with: "Cyril is going back to the Tiwi, isn't he?

"Wayne Carey made that great announcement.

"We've coerced him into a five-year extension - five years.

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"You reckon you'd be able to coerce someone into a five-year extension if he wanted to back to the Tiwi? God, what a load of rubbish."

The day before, Carey said on Triple M that Rioli is homesick for the Northern Territory and wants to cut short his time at Hawthorn.

Late last year, Rioli extended with the Hawks until the end of the 2020 season.

"I get told he had to be a little bit coerced into signing that, and there is a real pull for him to go home," Carey said.

That prompted a furious response from Clarkson.

"Once again, no account - no account by a bloke who should know better than throw up bull---- about our players," Clarkson said.

"Hold some of these people to account, because the hysteria it creates is just absolute rubbish.

"Particularly Carey, of all people - we've spoken about this before, he shouldn't make too many comments about stories about other players, because we just go to town on him."

Carey is one of the AFL's greatest players, but his career was dogged by scandal.

The two-time North Melbourne captain left the club in disgrace in 2002 after his affair with Kelli Stevens, the wife of teammate Anthony Stevens, was revealed.

On Saturday, Clarkson also took aim at two journalists in his pre-game media conference.


2 min read

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Source: AAP


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