Jason Dunstall has been an integral part of Hawthorn on and off the field

HAWTHORN legend Jason Dunstall might be the butt of jokes on TV but has helped deliver premierships on and off the field.

THE few people close to Jason Dunstall say he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He may be aloof and even arrogant, but his ­devotion to Hawthorn Football Club is beyond question.

Not many people would ­immediately identify Dunstall as a pillar of the organisation.

Most associate the man nicknamed “Chief” and “Piggy” with ape and fat jokes for his role on Fox Footy’s Yesterday’s Heroes segment with Danny Frawley.

They also know him as a commentator whose acid tongue belies a deep understanding of the game.

But Dunstall is far more than a vaudeville act.

He was a magnificent footballer, an all-time great, and according to former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett, an equally great administrator.

“Jason is a very private individual and there is a public ­Jason Dunstall,” Kennett said.

“What’s kept Jason relevant — and why he’s been so ­important to Hawthorn — (is) because he’s in the media and is acutely aware of what’s ­happening on the ground and movements in the game. He is relevant, if not more so today than what he was when he was playing.

“He is a very intelligent man, he is a very private man, I suspect he’s a very shy man, but he’s not the only one like that.’’

Kennett said Dunstall and Sam Newman were brothers in arms.

“Sam Newman clowns round in a way that’s, at times, grating, yet I know Sam privately and there are two sides of Sam Newman.

“He is very intelligent; he’s very considerate of other people; he never looks for recognition. And neither does Jason.

“They are very humble ­people, but they’re very, very community minded. If you’re ever in trouble, they would be the first two people to come and help you without recognition or thanks.

“And yet, at times, they have a totally different public persona. They are intelligent, serious, creative men.’’

Dunstall has been Hawthorn football director since 2004, the year he was interim chief executive, and is ­acknowledged for identifying Alastair Clarkson as the right coach for the club.

It was a defining period of transition for the Hawks after coach Peter Schwab was sacked late in the 2004 season.

A subcommittee that included Dunstall and Dermott Brereton had interviewed Gary Ayres, Terry Wallace and Rodney Eade for the coaching position.

History has it Brereton wanted Ayres, that Mark Harvey’s mobile phone number went missing and he missed out on an interview and, in the end, the search for an experienced coach was expanded to the search for the best coach.

Two minutes into Clarkson’s presentation, Dunstall was so impressed he basically announced the club had found its man.

Together, Dunstall and Clarkson have grown to be ­loyal friends, tenacious servants of the club, and the backbone of the football department.

“His role at the club internally is well appreciated, but outside of it, not fully understood,” Kennett said of Dunstall.

“He, of course, was one of our historically better players, there’s no question about that, and he stepped into the breach as acting chief executive under Ian Dicker’s leadership when the club was going through some enormous changes and difficulties and he held the club together through that period of time.

“On my succession to Ian, we used him as fundamentally our director responsible for football.

“Jason became terribly important as the board’s conduit into the football department.”

That first year was extremely fruitful for key Hawthorn appointments.

Clarkson was named coach and Mark Evans, who recently became head of football operations at the AFL, football manager. Dunstall would relinquish his role as interim chief executive and resume his role as ­director.

“There’s no doubt Jason was able to bring a different authority and a very well-grounded understanding of football to the board for our consideration,’’ Kennett said.

FEW would have envisaged the champion on the field becoming a champion for the club off it.

Dunstall played 269 goals and kicked 1254 goals at an ­average of 4.66 a game.

Six times he kicked more than 100 goals in a season; his best tally 145.84 in 1992 and his next 138.76 in 1989.

He is a great of the game and elevation to Legend in the AFL Hall of Fame is a matter of when and not if.

At board level, he would have been excused for believing his opinion on football ­carried considerable weight.

But Kennett said that didn’t happen. Dunstall would speak his mind, but never down to a fellow director or football official, or even with Clarkson in match committee, of which he has been a member since 2004.

Naturally, three bulls in the paddock would have differences of opinion.

Dunstall and Kennett, and Dunstall and Clarkson, have had dramas, and Dunstall has had to scold the pair for whatever reason — usually for opening their mouths when they shouldn’t.

Kennett believes that forthrightness was the formula for success at the club.

“He never imposed himself on any discussion based on his previous occupation and his reputation,” Kennett said.

“Jason was always reserved, he normally only spoke on football matters, and when he spoke he was listened to. His views were respected. He was always prepared to challenge me on something I’ve said or done, which I ­respected.

“Jason is terribly important. Coaches, at times, are fairly ­aggressive, fairly focused, and Jason was able to work equally with Alastair and at times be quite upfront with Alastair, as he was with me, or any other board member who he thought did not appreciate the point of view, or had done something he thought was not in the ­interest of Hawthorn.

“If I was going into battle, and I’ve been in the army, and I’ve been an officer in the army, I’d have Jason and Clarko as two people I wanted to have working beside me if I was trying to bring about a positive outcome, I can assure you.’’

DUNSTALL is not one for fanfare or accolades, evident by his absolute ­refusal to be part of this article.

“Leading up to the Grand Final, the last thing I want is people talking about me,” Dunstall said.

“I wouldn’t want to do anything to distract any attention of anybody involved in the club from anything other than Saturday’s game. That is my ­issue. I don’t want to be quoted.’’

Dunstall’s tag of reluctant hero is well known at Hawthorn.

When the Hawks won the 2008 Grand Final, Dunstall did not attend the premiership ­celebration.

He had a barbecue and a few beers and wines with family who were staying at his Hawthorn home.

He didn’t seek congratulations, but when Evans, Clarkson and former chief executive Ian Robson arrived with the premiership cup on their way to the club function, Dunstall was said to be quietly chuffed.