BRETT Ratten has experienced more twists and turns in coaching than most, and North Melbourne general manager of football Todd Viney suspected he wouldn't be ready for another when he called late on Wednesday night.
Asked by Viney to step in as the Kangaroos' caretaker coach after Alastair Clarkson took time away from the club to focus on his physical and emotional wellbeing, however, the former Carlton and St Kilda coach did not hesitate.
The temporary appointment, which shapes as a fortunate insurance plan for the Kangaroos, reignites a 182-game coaching career that started 17 years ago with the Blues.
It is a career that has twice been interrupted in surprising circumstances, with Ratten most recently sacked by St Kilda less than 100 days after signing a two-year contract extension and boasting a 50.0 per cent winning record.
He had led the Saints to the finals for the first time since 2011 in 2020 and guided the club to an 8-3 record at the midway point of 2022 but was ultimately replaced by Ross Lyon in brutal style.
"When I made the phone call I was half anticipating 'I'm not ready and I'm still dealing with my own history'," Viney said on Thursday.
"But without a split second – and I think this speaks to the character of the person – he said 'I'm prepared to step up for my mate and my club' without a second thought, so we're so grateful that he's done that.
"It certainly takes a lot of pressure of us as a club to know we have a person of his calibre to help us in this tough period of time."
Ratten had held a part-time role with the Kangaroos, working three days during the week and on match day, but he was the senior operative in the coaches' box during games while Clarkson was on the boundary line.
He will now step up to full-time, with the Kangaroos confident they have the flexibility to negotiate any spending issues that presents for their football department soft cap.
A champion midfielder for the Blues in 255 games between 1990 and 2003, Ratten launched his coaching career as an assistant at Melbourne under Neale Daniher in 2004.
He coached Norwood in the SANFL in 2006 and joined the Blues in 2007, taking over from Denis Pagan as Carlton's stand-in coach during the 2007 season and then winning the permanent appointment.
The 51-year-old remains the club's most successful coach of the past 20 years, leading the Blues to three consecutive finals series between 2009-11 before injuries played a key role in the club's slide during 2012, narrowly missing the top eight with an 11-11 record.
Ratten was then ruthlessly sacked by the Blues, who appointed legendary coach Mick Malthouse as his replacement, with the coach moving to Hawthorn as an assistant to Clarkson.
It is this connection with the Kangaroos' coach that gave Viney confidence that Ratten's appointment as the club's caretaker would be seamless, two days out from a clash against Sydney at Marvel Stadium.
Viney said the club had confidence in all of its assistants to do the job, but Ratten allowed for the least amount of change while Clarkson was away from the club indefinitely.
"[The players] will continue with 'Ratts' as coach to strive forward in trying to put together a product on-field that he is really proud of, and we are really proud of," Viney said.
"We don't think we will miss a beat with that with Ratts, being an experienced coach and someone who has spent a lot of time with Clarko.
"The understanding and philosophy should be pretty seamless."
