afl.com.au's Luke Holmesby looks at the candidates most likely to be considered as Rodney Eade's replacement.

Leon Cameron
Highly rated assistant coach at Hawthorn after moving from the Western Bulldogs. Has been spoken of previously as an heir apparent to Rodney Eade at Whitten Oval. Respected player for the club and already has a relationship with the players.

Mark Neeld
Not a high-profile candidate but threw his hat in the ring for the Richmond job that eventually went to Damien Hardwick. Comes with a ringing endorsement from Magpies coach Mick Malthouse who has said he was more prepared for a senior coaching role than Brad Scott when he went to North Melbourne.

Scott Burns
Widely considered to be one of the brightest up-and-coming assistant coaches. Has served as an assistant to West Coast's John Worsfold over the past three years and has already been linked to the Adelaide job.

Ken Hinkley
The perennial bridesmaid. Has come down to the final few for both the Geelong and Richmond coaching jobs in recent years but was pipped at the line for both. Now an assistant at Gold Coast after stints at Geelong and St Kilda, Hinkley has had plenty of time to learn the ropes.

Brenton Sanderson
Another to come close to winning the Cats job before it was handed to Chris Scott. Sanderson is spoken of highly as a Geelong assistant coach and has also been linked to a potential assistant role under friend Nathan Buckley when he takes over the reins at Collingwood next season.

Brendon McCartney
Mark Thompson's right-hand man during Geelong's three consecutive Grand Final appearances. Was a real steal when he joined Essendon from the Cats and while few football fans would recognise him by face, his credentials speak for themselves.

Leigh Tudor
Yet another to come from the Geelong stable, Tudor moved from the Cats to St Kilda as an assistant to Ross Lyon and was considered a valuable part of the regime that took the Saints to consecutive Grand Finals. Now an assistant coach to John Longmire at the Sydney Swans, Tudor should be considered for the role.

Mick Malthouse
Has said he is committed to his new role at Collingwood next year but it has been made pretty clear he and the club aren't seeing eye-to-eye over the position. As is the case with Melbourne, the Dogs would be negligent not to enquire about his services and to present its case in the strongest possible manner.

Neil Craig
Unlikely but he is available after losing the Adelaide job. Is an astute and experienced performer and the Dogs could do worse than appoint him. Was recently seen in Melbourne.

Brian Royal
Unlikely, but he is a very experienced assistant working at Melbourne. Was considered hot property on the coaching merry-go-round around 10 years ago but for whatever reason doesn't get mentioned often these days. Has served at North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Richmond, St Kilda and is in his second stint at Melbourne. Played 199 games for the Bulldogs. 

Alastair Clarkson
Former Melbourne player who led the Hawks to the 2008 flag on the back of his revolutionary 'cluster'. Is out of contract at the end of the season, and while he is unlikely to leave Hawthorn - with the club set for another serious premiership assault - the Dogs will definitely inquire about his services.

Paul Roos
Has said he has no interest in coaching again but has all the credentials for the job. It would be his if he wanted it and all three clubs looking for a senior coach would be doing all they could to convince him if they saw even a tiny glimmer of hope.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL