AFL: Rodney Eade casts eye on footy’s future and futureproofing Hawthorn

Few people know footy as well as Rodney Eade. And the coach can foresee football nearing a point of no return as it works to cut down on high contact.

Coach of the Suns Rodney Eade is seen during the round 12 AFL match between the Richmond Tigers and the Gold Coast Suns at the MCG in Melbourne, Sunday, June 12, 2016. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Rodney Eade can see the line coming.

Few know footy like Eade, who played 259 games for Hawthorn and the Brisbane Bears before coaching 377 matches with Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast before a turn at the local level.

He has seen footy from almost every vantage point and when asked to see into the future, he is worried about what he calls the “demarcation line”.

As the AFL tweaks the game constantly to reduce high contact and minimise concussions and considers and edict to drastically cut down contact training, Eade can see a tipping point.

Eade points the way during his time at the Suns. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

He understands the importance of reducing concussions but doesn’t want to football to lose its soul.

“Oh there will be less contact (in the future). There will be situations where players will, in the old terms, put short steps in and they will minimise contact,” he said.

“More and more that will happen. And I think the AFL are trying to do their best on it but there is going to be a demarcation line somewhere where we worry not about the integrity of the game but what it needs to look like in terms of upholding its old pillars of being a combative game compared to the wellbeing of its participants.

“If you go too far towards the wellbeing of the participants then it becomes like touch footy and people won’t watch it. The AFL has that balance to strike in trying to keep the game as it is, while considering the wellbeing of participants.”

On the training track during the Western Bulldogs days.

Eade made his points while watching Hawthorn training at Waverley recently, with the four-time premiership Hawk back in the club in a fundraising capacity to help build the new Kennedy Community Centre at Dingley.

Watching over training, he is unsure how a cut back on contact during pre-season and the week would impact the weekend’s play.

“I will be interested to see how it goes and how we can measure that and if it does decline, the competitiveness on match day or if it will have no effect,” he said.

“I think technique wise, the way the game is now and how you move your body and how you bump, you are not going to cover every scenario but you have got to educate players.”

Back in his playing days, Eade was close with the rats at Glenferrie.

Back in Eade’s playing days, if the Hawks were a bit short of the contest on a Saturday, they would bring the mouthguards and get to work during the week to sharpen up.

Eade reckons the players at Glenferrie then were “on a first-name basis with the rats”.

Hawthorn moved to Waverley in 2006, in what was then a multimillion-dollar facility that had a minor facelift at the old VFL Park.

Now the club openly admits it sits near the bottom of the league in terms of facilities, with Waverley a “rabbit warren” according to Eade.

In mid-2025, the Hawks plan to move over to their new home at Dingley, a huge, purpose built HQ.

Artist render of Hawthorn's Dingley site

Eade’s gig at Hawthorn has him hosting functions and spruiking a jumper the team will wear in round 22 against Carlton, in which fans can secure their name on the guernsey by donating to the Kennedy Centre, starting from $400.

Eade said the club “obviously have a few million to go” to complete the Dingley build and he is happy to make the calls, as long as he holds the phone to his left ear as an old injury has left him deaf on the right side.

But for a club that is consistently touted has going on big recruiting drives for established talent to top off Sam Mitchell’s list build, new digs could make all the difference.

How the Hawthorn jumper will look in round 22.

“The biggest thing I think is it (Dingley) will help you become a destination club, so players (coming in) and also retention,” Eade said.

“If you are top of the pile and what you have got there, it certainly helps with the recruiting aspect.

“Society has changed, so these guys out here and their mindset is so different to what it was 20 years ago and the old timers like me would say tough it out, don’t worry about it.

“They think differently. If it is substandard and they are talking to their mates who say they have this great facility, then they are going to want to experience that.

“If a club looks after a player with their welfare and wellbeing and then offers great facilities, it is a big tick. It is not just about the money.”

Join the cause and secure a spot on Hawthorn’s round 22 jumper by visiting foundation.hawthornfc.com.au