North Melbourne has named Fremantle assistant Jaymie Graham as its senior coach, filling the job Alastair Clarkson lost five weeks ago. The club announced the appointment on Tuesday morning at Arden Street, and AFL.com.au reported that Graham, 43, has signed a three-year deal.
It is Graham's first permanent senior job in the AFL. He has spent the past five seasons at Fremantle under Justin Longmuir, most recently in charge of the forward line of a side that reached this year's grand final. Before that he worked at St Kilda from 2012 and then at West Coast, where club president Sonja Hood said he "played a key role" in the 2018 premiership. His only time in the top chair at AFL level was three games as a caretaker across West Coast and Fremantle.
Hood broke the news in a letter to members. "As a coach, Jaymie is a process-driven leader with a quiet, grounded presence, sharp attention to detail, and a clear football vision," she wrote.
Graham described himself as a "systems-based and relationships-based coach" when he faced the media. "There's no ceiling on where we want to get to," he said. "There's clearly some talent on this list, but there's also some work to do."
The list he inherits finished 14th in 2026 with nine wins. That was Clarkson's best season at the club. Across four years he won 20 of 82 games, and North sacked him on 2 September with a year still to run on his five-year contract. Hood said at the time that he no longer had "the belief from enough people at the club" and called it "unashamedly a football decision".
The selection panel was chaired by chief executive Jen Watt and included football boss Todd Viney, Andrew Swallow, Nick Dowling, Darren Crocker and Collingwood's Steele Sidebottom. Watt said the vote for Graham was unanimous. SEN reported that he beat a field including David Hale, Daniel Giansiracusa and Xavier Clarke after interviewing on Saturday. The club has not named the other candidates, thanking only the "high-calibre candidates" who applied.
Graham had come close this year already. He was in the final stages of both Carlton's search, which went to Josh Fraser, and Essendon's.
Fremantle's football boss Joe Brierty said it was "well documented" that Graham wanted to be a senior coach. "We couldn't be prouder or happier for him to take an opportunity he's worked so hard for," he said.
There is no settling-in period. Hood said Graham would "get to work straight away" on the trade and draft, and the trade period, which opened on Monday, closes on 14 October. North's first job is Zane Duursma, the 2023 pick four who has asked to go to Melbourne. List boss Brady Rawlings said on Monday the club would not move him for "hardly anything in return".
