Campbell Brown (L) of Hawthorn is embraced by President Jeff Kennett after the AFL Round 16 match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Brisbane Lions at Aurora Stadium, Tasmania.
“Come to the MCG next week, fill the seats with brown and gold, and let’s hope our coaches and players hear our cry!” This is how Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett concluded his controversial open letter on the club’s website after their ‘appalling’ loss to Sydney on Saturday.
It is pretty clear Kennett’s open letter was aimed at the Hawthorn’s members and supporters. The president is desperate to see as many Hawks fans as possible turn up next weekend for the game against Melbourne and is looking after his department in doing so.
On the other hand, though, it doesn’t do the club’s football department any favours. Maybe it’s added motivation, maybe it’s added pressure? It’s hard to tell, but it’s a distraction.
The funny thing is it’s happened before too, with Kennett publicly condemning the football department and putting them ‘on notice’ earlier in the year when the team was 1-5. The week after, Hawthorn lost to current cellar-dwellers West Coast.
This time round, Kennett wrote: “One talked of a crisis at Hawthorn. Well let me assure you there is absolutely no crisis at the Club. In fact, the Club is in a very good and healthy place. With one exception. We need to improve in the Football Department and on the field.”
It’s definitely odd to see a president single out one department of his club for public condemnation.
And ironically, in addressing a media claim of a supposed ‘crisis’ at Hawthorn, he’s fuelled the fire by taking a swipe at coach Alastair Clarkson.
But it’s not as if Clarkson needed any reminding that their past two performances weren’t up to scratch as they slipped down into eighth spot on the ladder.
Clarkson said following the 44-point loss to Sydney: “We’re pretty shattered with the way we’ve performed particularly today, but also last week (after an eight-point defeat at Port Adelaide).
“It’s nowhere near the quality of footy that we know we’re capable of playing but it’s a long hard season and we’ve got three games to go. There’s no point worrying too much about it, we’ve just got to move on and get on with the next game.”
It should be acknowledged Kennett was writing in his regular column on the club’s website, so he wasn’t going out of his way to make a point, but the content he produced was pretty damning of the team, particularly Clarkson who he said was ‘outcoached’ against Sydney.
Sure, Kennett is being honest, and at times he seems quite accurate, but the issue is as the club’s president he shouldn’t be making his grievances about internal departments public knowledge.
It shows a lack of unity and lumps unnecessary pressure on the coach, who already knows his department isn’t performing well enough and doesn’t need the media jumping on his back because the president lets everyone know he isn’t happy.
It’s an unnecessary distraction. Perhaps Kennett sees it another way and believes it’ll garner the team, but surely he could get that message across to the football department internally.
Sure, Kennett has a duty to the club’s members and supporters, but he’s also got a duty to those inside the club such as the football department.
“I know some of our players and coaches will be upset at me expressing the views I have in this letter to you today,” Kennett wrote. “But not to do so would be to spit in the face of the bleeding obvious.” Sometimes, though, it’s better to keep your mouth shut.
It appears Kennett knows he should, but he just can’t resist.
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