What an off-season it has been for the brown and gold of Hawthorn over at Glenferrie.
Club stalwarts gone, new blood brought in, the end of a storied captain’s reign, and the introduction of a captain who, like the quintessential phoenix rising from the flames, has beaten death and taken the armband.
Hawthorn have been as high profile for so long, you wonder if they can ever stop topping even themselves, and they continue to amaze.
However, one story that perhaps went a little overlooked was late last year, when Alastair Clarkson gave an impressive speech at the Hawthorn Football Club AGM for 2016.
It was thoughtful and insightful.
It would be easy to mistake his speech for a lengthy attempt to explain away a tumultuous trade period for the family club, and also preparing the club’s supporters for more revelations to come.
However, you cannot imagine Clarkson, a guy who “doesn’t give a toss” what others think, to care anymore about outside opinion on the inner workings of the club.
Clarkson very carefully spoke about the history of Hawthorn, the highs and lows, the tradition of winning, the heights of the 1980s, and the depths of the mid-1990s.
He spoke as well of the re-birth in 2008, and the return to reality of 2009.
The theme was clear: one cannot rest on their laurels, lest they will be brought back to the pack.
Success is not bred in an environment of static, but by ever changing and charging forward.
To a certain extent, Clarkson himself learned that lesson again in 2016, although having won three premierships in a row, anything other than grand final glory is a harsh and unfair assessment of apparent failure.
Clarkson’s AGM message was a careful mixture of philosophy and harsh reality.
The philosophy was clear, in that Hawthorn as a club is greater than any individual, and will no doubt survive long after its current custodians (as he refers to players, coaches, staff, and supporters) have moved on.
The reality of such a philosophy? The departures of club stalwarts Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis.
That a player such as Sam Mitchell can be moved on, albeit with his own consultation and counsel, and with his (in public anyway) blessing, is the clear evidence that Alastair Clarkson holds strong to his philosophy. To be sure, the only honour that came to mind that does not have Sam Mitchell’s name next to it is a Norm Smith medal.
As for Jordan Lewis, a four time premiership player and tipped to be future captain: gone.
Now to Clarkson’s credit, he went to some lengths to say those players had still been welcome at Hawthorn next year, but in the face of better offers, nor would the club stand in their way.
That is a matter for individuals outside the club to decide whether they believe Hawthorn’s public iterations of their intentions to truly be the case.
But whether it was the lull of the 1960s after Hawthorn’s first premiership, the dark days of the 1990s after their dynasty, or even the return to reality of 2009 and 2010, Clarkson was clear: success is what the club strives for, and any individual at the club is there for that reason.
All must play their part.
So if your part in the club has come to an end, then so be it, and Hawthorn, while apparently striving to move you on in the best way forward for both individual and club, will do what they can.
The problem for Alastair Clarkson however, in the truest sense of the “live by the sword, die by the sword” mentality, is that at its most extreme, his philosophy of the club maintaining success at the expense of the individual, unfortunately dictates that his own time at the Hawthorn Football club must shortly come to an end.
If players must make way to ensure that the club does not become stagnant, and does not miss out on the next generation of superstar to take the club forward, then nor should the club ignore the next generation of coach to take the club forward.
Another point that Clarkson made at the AGM was to point out that Hawthorn have been one of the more successful clubs in the last 50 years not just in the AFL, or even in Australia, but in the world.
A total of 13 premierships in a 56-year period, about one premiership every four years, that puts them up there in the stratosphere of any club, of any sport, on the planet.
Consider the success of Manchester United in the English Premier League.
20 first division or Premier League titles for Man U, 13 of them under the rule of Sir Alex Ferguson. And they had continental and other domestic titles to play for, so you can throw in multiple European Cups, League Cups, and FA Cups.
It was a period of unrivalled dominance and success, to be honest, the likes of which we will probably never see again.
Sir Alex won a premiership every two years during his 27-year reign, and not even Clarko comes close to that rate of success.
But 27 years is a long time, and if you look at Man U these days – three years after his departure – they’re already up to their fourth coach, and not looking like coming close to another title.
To a certain extent, you would question the legacy of Sir Alex at Man U, given the state the club finds itself in, and whether he selfishly stayed on too long to feed his own ego, rather than for the good of the Manchester United brand.
You would hate for such a comparison to be made of Clarkson.
As Clarkson said, we are all but custodians of the club, and nobody wants to stand in the way of success. Or at least, continued success.
For Alastair Clarkson, if he truly believes in his own philosophy of sustained success superseding the individual, then his current deal may have to be his last.
To use the continental European football example, if you look at Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich: continued success, continual turnover of coaches and players.
Now let me be clear: the only reason that Hawthorn are currently in a position to even consider long-term sustained success is because Clarkson arrived to a club still in tatters, and re-built it. The club owes him a debt of gratitude that will likely never be re-paid.
But Clarkson must realise that now is the time to plan for his departure, and to ensure that his philosophy of sustained success continues, and proving once and for all that he believes that no individual is greater than the club, then it is time for Clarkson to move on at the end of 2019, and start putting in place now the structures for his successor.
We are, after all, mere custodians.
Real Mister Football
Roar Rookie
I think the Hawks will rebound in 2017 and take the Premiership. My Footscray side might have to wait another 50 or so years to taste glory again.....well....maybe not that long.
andyl12
Guest
There was nothing chequebook about Hawthorn's 70s/80s success- just sound management on a tight budget. We had a better feeder zone than some clubs, but if the zone was that big an advantage then the other 11 clubs would've voted to take it off us.
Birdman
Guest
the Hawks' Fitness Coach handpicked by Clarko to follow him from Port Adelaide. Critical to getting the best out of Brian Lake and Shaun Burgoyne among others.
Wilson
Roar Guru
Fair Call on what you have there PD I will admit that for the Hawks I think I was the right Call to have the way it was or most likely the Hawks would still have Jeff at the front and Clarko would be at some other club winning premiership for them. WIll it be the best for the future only time will tell.
Mick_Lions
Roar Pro
Interesting read. I understand the philosophy of refreshing the roles that Clarko has established but I also believe that he has a lot more to offer. There are currently 6 senior coaches that have been through Clarko's coach factory and there will undoubtedly be more. Further into the future it will be the players during his reign that will start to take these roles. Sam Mitchell will be a premiership coach. Who else will take it on? Roughy, Burgoyne, Lewis all have the mindset. Hodge? Media might snavel him up. Great coaches leave a legacy: Malthouse's influence can't be denied, nor that of Roos. Leigh Mathews had 4 players rise to senior status with one flag to their names and all 4 still in the system. Not forgetting that there are several others with integral roles across the landscape. Luke Power, Marcus Ashcroft and Nigel Lappin to name a few. Clarkson and Hawthorn's greatest asset has been in identifying human talent and allowing open forums in discussion, Fagan didn't hesitate on installing Leading Programs at the Lions. With this philosophy in mind, I believe that Clarko will one day spot his successor and build a program to hand over to them when he sees fit. Somewhere between 2019-2027. Whenever he like really ;)
dave
Guest
Agreed m8.nice name btw. The hawks did pretty well. Even with losing mitchell & jordie they found 2 great&proven young players oozing with potential as replacements. Mitchell had another incredible yr as always but even though lewis came 2nd in b&f i think it was one of his quieter more inconsistent yrs even though his stats didn't reflect that as much as i thought they would i thought he was just missing that spark he had through out most of his career & over the last 5or so seasons he has been a major contribriuter to our success & always a dependable player you could always count on. He had glimpses of it but him judging him on the extreamly high standard of his previous yrs. I wish him all the best at melbourne & hope that he isn't on the way out like i was worried he may be & mitchell will slot in at west coast with ease like the champion professinal they have both proven to be over their careers. Omera has shown he has imense talent & hopefully drive to prove himself after yrs on the sideline. Hopefully he can stay fit & healthy & him & mitchell.0.2 can slot in to the team nicely & help keep supply to the big captain man roghy up forward. Had he been there last yr the season would've been much different to how it turned out. We suffer from being judged so highly by those predicting a big slide down the ladder. We are talking about a season where 1 kick after the siren decided whether we went on to contest another grand final. We ended up falling to the eventual premiers which is far from what most clubs supporters would call a disapointing end to a season. Practically finishing 2nd seems like the end is near in some peoples minds.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Who is Andrew Russell, Birdman?
Birdman
Guest
There should be acknowledgement of the contribution of Graham Wright and Andrew Russell in Clarko's success. These guys have targeted key players and made sure the club got the most out of them when they arrived - O'Meara will be the latest challenge.
Birdman
Guest
agree PD - Richmond, Carlton and Collingwood had much bigger chequebooks than Hawthorn pre-salary cap.
Joe B
Guest
That was my thought as well. Mitchell going to West Coast to start his coaching apprenticeship in a very good environment (i.e. well respected club, good practices, known coach in Simpson). It will be interesting to see if Mitchell plays on in 2019 - I suspect not. So... Mitchell does 2-3 years assistant coaching at WC, then does a handover year, 2021/2, with Clarkson, and takes the reins in 2022/3? There are worse succession plans.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Yeah I agree. These aren't legislative bodies, they're just football clubs. If the AFL wanted to fund and run all these clubs themselves then they could set rules but otherwise I don't see why presidents etc shouldn't be able to serve as long as they want. There are numerous examples throughout history of why the cult of personality is generally a bad thing. There's no shortage of evidence for Collingwood to read up on as to why having someone running the show for decades is not great.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
I think you're right Wilson. But I disagree with the limit on a person's reign, whether it be for Hawthorn FC or the US Presidency. So long as the position is open to a genuinely democratic election process, then it should be the best person for the job, irrespective of how long they've been in that job. I can't see any down side to unrestricted tenures provided they're open to a genuinely democratic election process. Richard Colless, Frank Costa, David Smorgon and Bill Sanders all had extended periods in the top job and were highly regarded. Big John Elliott is probably the exception - his corrupt practices wreaking long-term havoc on the club. Powerful personalities like Eddie and Jeff might win term extensions purely on the strength of their personality, but that's for the Boards or ultimately the members to decide.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
"so that presidents could only serve two 3 year terms" Let's hope the American's don't change their constitution anytime soon.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
He's also pretty humble (highlighted by your example). I'm not terribly humble myself, but I think it's a wonderful trait to have.
Wilson
Roar Guru
PD I think Bevo and Clarko would have learnt from each other and become better coaches for it. I would say with Kennett was more the Faces and leader or the more Financial and helping the club viable again where Dunstall was the one getting the on field side of thing correct. One Question for all with Kennett bring in the change to the club's constitution so that presidents could only serve two 3 year terms would Collingwood have been in a better spot if they had the same set up?
Paul D
Roar Guru
Agree on Dunstall, he is the godfather of Hawthorn's era of success. My favourite memory of him in recent years is when he was handing over the 2014 premiership cup to Clarkson - just a wry smile, a shared look of "look at what we have done together mate, what a great day this is for the club" and then he stepped back into the background and smiled as the Hawks charged the podium to celebrate their win. I think he's one of the best administrators and minds in the game. His impact has been enormous and speaks volumes as to what steady and competent leadership at board level can allow talented employees to do for a club.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
'The Chief' has probably had the biggest impact on the club in the past 20 years (with exception to Clarkson of course). Dunstall is on record saying the board (which he was part of) was split in their decision regarding Clarkson as the senior coach. Brereton — a director at the time — was against Clarko for example (along with 3 others), which left Dunstall having the final decision. Dunstall was very impressed with Clarkson; taking into account the future of the game, where he thought it would be and whether it matched Clarkson's vision. One of the most professional people in the business — albeit a bit boring at times. :)
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
That's a fair call on Carlton, but I don't think that's an accepted point of view on Hawthorn. The Hawks dynasty of the 1980's was built on locally grown talent. Interstate players like Platten, Eade, Buckenara, Jarman, Dunstall were mostly unknown or young kids before arriving at Hawthorn. I can't think of any big name player they purchased from another club in the 1980's dynasty. As for "perennial losers", your memory must be stretching back 40+ years. The Hawks of the 1980's were far superior IMO to the current crop - their record proves it.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Very good article Karlo. I've never liked Clarko but I concede he has an enviable record, seems highly respected by his players and is undoubtedly an excellent coach. I do wonder how much influence Bevo had during his time at the Hawks, given how outstanding he's been at the Doggies in just two seasons (and given his premiership assistant coaching history at Collingwood and Hawthorn, and premiership coaching in the Amateurs). Was Bevo excellent at the Hawks because of Clarko's tutelage? Or were the Hawks excellent during Bevo's term in part due in large part to Bevo? I also think Dunstall, and to a lesser extent Kennett, deserve enormous credit for Hawthorn's turnaround in fortunes. The guy who followed Kennett did a brilliant job too. As for your proposition that Clarko should hand the baton over, that didn't work very well for Collingwood. The only example where this has worked in AFL is Longmire at the Swans, who was already an experienced, established Assistant Coach. I disagree with moving him on just for the sake of transition, which almost seems implied in your article. If he keeps performing, then he should keep his job.
Birdman
Guest
possibly, but I think it's more likely to be someone already in a senior gig somewhere else. IMHO Sammy Mitchell would still be too raw by 2020 particularly if he plays in 2018 as well.