ASSISTANT Coach Brett Ratten will coach Hawthorn against Collingwood in Thursday night’s NAB Challenge opener as part of a coaching rotation.

For the fourth year, Senior Coach Alastair Clarkson will relinquish the reins to his assistants for the three pre-season matches.

In what has been a successful initiative for the Hawks, the assistant coaches will receive a learning opportunity that will benefit their long-term development.

Ratten will assume the task on Thursday night before Cameron Bruce, in his second year as an assistant coach, will lead the Hawks against North Melbourne in Shepparton and Brendon Bolton against St Kilda on 19 March.

The trio will step into Clarkson’s role and be exposed to what life is like as a senior coach.

“It gives our assistant coaches exposure to the demands of coaching on game day, organising your systems, the players, the strategy and the opposition analysis,” Clarkson told hawthornfc.com.au.

“We’ve felt it’s really beneficial for the growth and development of the guys.

“They’ve got great football experience and in many cases great football pedigrees, so it’s a tremendous opportunity for them to test the way they communicate with people because it’s a people’s business.”

While Clarkson won’t be sitting in the senior coaches’ chair, he’ll still be a presence during the week and on game day.

The initiative provides Clarkson, and GM – Football Operations Chris Fagan the chance to support the assistant coaches and provide feedback where necessary.

“More or less we’ll be like a helicopter hovering above – we’re there for support,” Clarkson explained.

“We don’t just abandon the program altogether, we’ll try to stay a little bit removed so it allows those guys to grow into their roles and feel like they don’t have someone looking over their shoulder.

“Without a doubt where we can, we’ll be giving them assistance so they can do the job as well as they possibly can.

“We don’t want to intrude too much while things are occurring, we want them to have the space to make their own decisions and sometimes to make mistakes so they learn and grow from that.”

Clarkson will at the same time, also see his players from a new perspective.

“Usually I’m observing the players in just their pure performance,” Clarkson explained.

“But we’re going to be observing the ways in which they communicate and direct and provide the on-field coaching that will give support to Brett, Cameron and Brendon when they sit in the senior coaches’ chair.”

Hawthorn take on Collingwood in the opening NAB Challenge match on Thursday night at Aurora Stadium.