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Shaun Burgoyne assesses his options against Collingwood.Credit:Getty Images

“The competitive juices and the competitive instincts,that’s why we do what we do,” Clarkson said. “We compete to win. Irrespective of my personal situation,we come into the game trying to beat the opposition. That’s the battle,that’s what we love about the contest.

“Forever that I’ve been involved in the game,that will continue to be the same,and I’m sure that’s the same in our players.”

But Clarkson,perhaps inspired by the Olympics,reaffirmed his commitment to handing “the baton” to Mitchell and offering Hawthorn’s young brigade ample opportunity to test their might at AFL level.

“I’ll hand over the baton at the end of the year to Mitch,but in the last two games we’ve got the Bulldogs next week,and Richmond as well. What a great way to test ourselves and see where we’re at[and] gives some lads some more exposure,” Clarkson said.

“We’ve got Sicily,who’s missed the whole season,Gunston’s missed the whole season,and now we’re without Luke Breust and young Will Day has hardly played at all this year,so for our supporters out there,there’s some real upside.

“I still recall the day that ‘Bud’[Franklin] kicked his first bag of six for Hawthorn down in Launceston back in 2006 and it was like a milestone for him. That’s what we’re searching for.”

In the midst of wide speculation on where the 53-year-old might be next year,there was a clear sense of irony in the Hawks’ clash with Collingwood. With the Magpies’ head role vacant,it is conceivable that Clarkson was coaching against the club that could seek his services for 2022 and beyond.

It is also worth noting,though,that Collingwood’s new general manager of football — Graham Wright — worked under Clarkson for 14 years before crossing to the Magpies at the end of 2020,and whether the pair would fancy recapturing their relationship has also been the subject of wide conjecture.

But Robert Harvey,Collingwood’s caretaker coach,has overseen a pair of impressive wins in the back-half of the season — the first against Richmond in round 17 and the next against West Coast in round 20 — and said he was enjoying the role.

“I enjoy the role,” Harvey told reporters. “In the end,it’s just trying to get all the pieces together and trying to get what we are trying to achieve in these last nine weeks,but I do enjoy it … in the end,it is good fun.”

“I said at the start I’m solely committed to doing the job at hand,so nothing changes there. I’ve got two more weeks of that,so I’m going to try and execute that as best I can.”

Clarkson was pleased for ball magnet Tom Mitchell,who again haunted the Pies with a best-on-ground performance that included 44 touches and a goal.

“He obviously had that horrible injury to his leg that caused him to miss a season,and anyone who’s had that type of injury will tell you it takes a good 12 months to recover … in terms of the immediate recovery,but then another 12 months to actually get going again,” Clarkson said.

“His work-rate and his hunt for the footy is really strong.”

The Magpies are currently scheduled to play Brisbane at the Gabba next week,but Harvey said the club had not yet received word on whether it would be allowed to fly into Queensland.

Hawthorn’s clash with the Bulldogs,meanwhile,is planned for Launceston,but the Tasmanian Government is yet to confirm that both Victorian teams will be able enter the state after the Hawks’ Sunday clash with Collingwood was relocated to the MCG.

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