North Melbourne has named Fremantle assistant coach Jaymie Graham as its new senior coach, choosing him to succeed four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson, whom the club sacked earlier this year. Club president Sonja Hood announced the appointment in a letter to members on Tuesday 6 October, ABC News reported.
Mr Graham joined Fremantle ahead of the 2022 season as an assistant to senior coach Justin Longmuir and worked with the club’s forwards, according to Fremantle. He leaves after five seasons there, the last of which ended with Fremantle’s grand final loss to the Brisbane Lions late last month.
He had earlier worked at West Coast, and Dr Hood credited him with a key role in the Eagles’ 2018 premiership, according to the ABC. Across his time at the two Western Australian clubs he has been a caretaker or interim senior coach for three games in total, the ABC reported.
In her letter, Dr Hood set out what the club saw in him. “As a coach, Jaymie is a process-driven leader with a quiet, grounded presence, sharp attention to detail, and a clear football vision.”
“You’ll learn more about Jaymie’s personal and football journey in the coming days and weeks, but let me say he has the resilience to handle the relentless toils of the football environment, carrying the exact kind of grit we value at North Melbourne,” Dr Hood wrote, according to the ABC.
Fremantle thanked him on Tuesday. “We can’t thank Jaymie enough for his five outstanding seasons of service to our Club,” said Joe Brierty, Fremantle’s executive general manager of football. Mr Brierty added: “It is well documented that Jaymie has had ambitions of becoming a senior coach in his own right one day, and we couldn’t be prouder or happier for him to take an opportunity he’s worked so hard for.”
Mr Graham was due to face the media alongside Kangaroos chief executive Jen Watt at midday AEDT on Tuesday, the ABC reported. What he said there had not been reported at the time of writing.
North Melbourne finished the 2026 season 14th on the ladder with nine wins, in what was Mr Clarkson’s fourth season in charge, according to the ABC. He had arrived at the club with four premierships already to his name, and his sacking earlier this year left the club looking for a successor. In September, Dr Hood said the replacement needed to be “a coach who can coach for the modern game”, the ABC reported.
A First Senior Job
Taking over as North Melbourne coach is a step up from the roles Mr Graham has held so far. In the AFL, the senior coach sets the game plan and carries public responsibility for results, while assistants such as a forwards coach look after one part of the ground and report to the senior coach.
A caretaker or interim coach takes temporary charge of a team, usually after a senior coach leaves during a season, until the club makes a permanent appointment. Mr Graham’s three games in that position, split between West Coast and Fremantle, are the whole of his record in the top job, which makes this the first time a club has handed him the role on a permanent footing.
Sources: ABC News, “North Melbourne confirms Jaymie Graham as new coach, succeeding Alastair Clarkson”, 6 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/jaymie-graham-named-new-north-melbourne-afl-coach/107232272); Fremantle Football Club, “Fremantle thanks Jaymie Graham”, 6 October 2026 (https://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/2147262/fremantle-thanks-jaymie-graham)
Photo: Totallynotarandomalt69, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Arden Street Oval, the North Melbourne club’s home ground, seen in January 2026. The picture is used for illustration only and was shot independently of the coaching announcement.
