Kennett’s scathing attack on Gold Coast boss

A rival AFL club boss has unleashed a “pathetic” tirade on Jeff Kennett but taking on the former Premier in a war of words is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Gold Coast Suns chief executive Mark Evans had lashed out at Jeff Kennett over his appearance at a book launch.

Getting into a war of words with Jeff Kennett is like taking a knife to a gunfight.

You are always going to come out worse off.

The verbal punch-up started when highly-paid Gold Coast Suns chief executive and former Hawks footy boss Mark Evans called the Hawthorn president to give him a spray about recently launching Herald Sun scribe Mick Warner’s bestseller, The Boys’ Club.

The book gives a no-holds barred insight into the inner machinations of what goes on at AFL headquarters.

Warner’s shirt-front has bruised plenty of egos and Evans felt Kennett should have kept it all in the AFL family and not spoken out of turn.

It might have all been a case of let sleeping Hawks lie, except Evans started shooting his mouth off, boasting to all and sundry he had cut Kennett down to size.

Former Premier Jeff Kennett hit back at Evans’ criticism.

As we all know, nothing stays quiet for long in AFL circles, so when we called the former Victorian premier to ask if the Evans spray had hit home, in true Kennett style the great man did not hold back.

“I was far from impressed at his pathetic call, he was obviously just a sycophant to someone else’s wishes,” Kennett told Page 13 without missing a wounding word.

“He said that I should not have launched the book. I said what right have you to tell me what to do.

“He is like one of those puffer fish who blows themselves up and releases themselves back to their natural size.”

The Hawthorn president had more to say of his former executive, who went to AFL House as operations manager following the departure of Adrian Anderson.

Evans, a former schoolteacher, was then parachuted into the role of Gold Coast Suns chief executive.

“He rang me up in what I thought was the most immature, inappropriate call from a totally underqualified individual.

The two-time Liberal Premier was just warming up.

“It was quite clear he was working to someone else’s agenda and I have told him in no uncertain terms he ought to focus on getting his own club to a position of financial stability and performance on the field,” he said.

“I said focus on his own club. It is the biggest drain on the AFL resources and unfortunately his stewardship of it would make him literally ineligible for any other task within the AFL. It’s the mates’ club at work.”

Evans wasn’t answering our calls. No doubt he is still smarting from the ol’ one-two Kennett combo.