(Trigger Warning: In this piece of writing I make the bold assumption that AFL and AFLW football are equally important. Anyone with a fragile ego who disagrees is advised that they might get upset if they continue reading.)
I can only see two viable modern day candidates to be the next Jock McHale.
Both are senior coaches.
Amazingly, both are currently coaching at the same club.
Since I cannot decide which one has the biggest chance of surpassing Jock McHale in terms of career echeivement, I am going to rely on the outdated principle of ladies first to describe my assessment of the AFLW coch before the AFL coach.
A. DARREN CROCKER
If I am not mistaken, there is only one club in VFL/AFL/AFLW/VFLW history (which began in 1897) to have won both seniors and reserves premierships in consecutive years. North Melbourne Football club in 2024-2025. Collingwood did not win a single reserves premiership in any of the years in which Jock McHale coached successive premierships.
So in the most successful club over a two year period category, CROCK IS AHEAD OF JOCK.
In the category of winning premierships in a row at AFL/VFL/AFLW level Jock has a fourpeat and a twopeat whereas Crock, at this stage, only has one twopeat.
But if the very strong North Melbourne AFLW side wins the next two AFLW flags and if Crock is the senior coach in both victories, then Crock will be the only coach in VFL/AFL/AFLW history to equal Jock McHale’s fourpeat.
Not everyone will be quick to give Crock the credit for an acheivement equal to Jock’s.
But I will.
As a man who was a Registered Midwife in the state of Victoria for 3 decades, I state unequivocally that I believe that the only fields of endeavour I can see in which the human rights of men and women are different are A. carrying life in the womb B. giving birth to that life and C. breast feeding babies.
As footballers, men and women have just as much right to recognition for equal achievement. To me it would be patently sexist to say that an AFLW fourpeat in 2024-2027 would not be the equivalent or perhaps even better than Jock’s fourpeat in 1927-1930. (Jock won in a twelve team competition which included three expansion teams, whereas Crock beats out seventeen longer established opposing teams every time he wins a flag.)
B. ALASTAIR CLARKSON
I have already proved on this blog that Alastair Clarkson’s premiership winning achievement’s make him the equal second best coach in AFL/VFL history.
The scores under my new system (click above link for details) for evaluating the success levels of coaches across different eras of AFL/VFL/AFLW history are:
The GOAT is Jock with 84 points.
In equal second are The Red Fox, Norm Smith, and Clarko tied on 66 points.
If Clarko can pull off a flag with his fast improving young side before the Tassie team starts playing, he goes one point behind Jock.
If Clarko wins his fifth flag when Tassie is playing in the AFL, Clarko ties with Jock McHale to be men’s footy’s GOAT at senior coaching.
Will Kane Cornes comment on this on The Agenda Setters before Eddie Maguire enters the debate?
If Kane is first and backs Clarko, will Eddy back Jock the following night on Footy Classified or admit that Kane makes lots of good points?
It is beyond the scope of this small blog of an old marginalised man to host any major part at all of that debate.
But is not beyond the footy community as a whole.
Especially the Grand Final breakfast.
I hope I am not wrong.
Geoff Fox, May 27, 2026, Melbourne, Australia
FOOTY FOR FREEDOM 