Angry Clarkson reopens his AFL Carey file

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has reopened his Wayne Carey file, attacking the AFL commentator for claiming Cyril Rioli is homesick.

Clarkson bristled at comments Carey made on Saturday, the day before the Hawks finally had their first win of the season with the 51-point belting of West Coast.

Rioli re-signed with the Hawks at the end of last season, but Carey said the Hawks star might end his AFL career prematurely and return to the Northern Territory.

Carey also suggested on Triple M that the Hawks had coerced Rioli into signing the new deal.

When Clarkson was asked post-match about Rioli’s return to form in the win over the Eagles, he cut short the question and took aim at Carey.

“Cyril is going back to the Tiwi, isn’t he?,” Clarkson said sarcastically.

“Wayne Carey made that great announcement.

“We’ve coerced him into a five-year extension – five years.

“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.”

Two years ago, Clarkson also was critical of Carey for comments he had made about Hawthorn and said “we should open a file up” on the North Melbourne great.

On Sunday, the Hawks coach again returned fire at Carey, whose legendary playing career was dogged by off-field scandal.

“Once again, no account – no account by a bloke who should know better than throw up bulls..t 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.”

Clarkson also was unimpressed with two controversial umpiring decisions that went against the Hawks in the second term and resulted in Eagles goals.

“There were a couple of horrific free kicks that didn’t go our way,” he said.

“We just didn’t have the rub of the green in that regard and we haven’t had much of the rub of the green in that regard.

“In other games we have fallen our way after those things haven’t gone our way and today we just hung in there.”

But unlike his anger towards Carey, the fiery Hawks coach pulled back about the umpires.

The AFL takes a dim view of coaches criticising the umpires and has hit them with fines.

When asked to expand on his umpiring comments, Clarkson said: “no point going too far into it, I will just get myself in trouble.”

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