Hawthorn news: Latest on Hawks’ presidential race

A power struggle for Hawthorn’s board is destabilising the club, and Hawks champ Don Scott fears it has become a battle between pro-Liberal and pro-Labor forces.

Hawthorn legend Don Scott says he fears ‘the family club’ is being “contaminated” by political ideology.

A power struggle between pro Labor Party forces and the current board, led by former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, is behind the off-field brawl destabilising the Hawks, Scott said.

“There hasn’t been anything like this in AFL football before,” Scott said.

“Back in the 1950s and maybe early 1960s there was a real thing in Melbourne which flowed over into football and that was religion – Protestant versus Catholic.

“It was quite divisive back in those times and for the first time ever we can now see politics coming into football.

“You had the former premier of Victoria (Kennett) becoming president of Hawthorn – and in that capacity he was a media commentator and very critical of the current Victorian government.

“That’s a real conflict as far as a football club president is concerned. It alienates people immediately because no matter what your colour, race or religion – you barrack for a team and never does any of that come into it.

Hawthorn great Don Scott says the battle at the club is being waged across political partly lines.

“That (the Kennett era) was divisive and in response, along came a group called ‘Hawks for Change’, predominantly made up of people connected to the Labor Party.

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“That has now flowed over and you’ve got Ian Silk on the board, James Merlino standing this year and also Andy Gowers. So this new movement wants to take control of the football club.

“They had a plan about how they were going to do it and they are still at it.”

Scott, the Hawthorn Team of the Century ruckman credited with saving the club from a proposed merger with Melbourne in 1996, said the club did not need directors motivated by politics.

“Jeff is very, very outspoken and so naturally enough the opposition are going to get upset,” he said.

“But you’ve never seen Merlino around the club, Gowers says he’s Hawthorn – he was co-opted onto the board – and is now going for the presidency, and yet he was on the nominations committee to get Ian Silk in as president. Gowers was also pushed out as a board member by Kennett when Jeff returned for his second stint as president.

Former Deputy Premier James Merlino in his Hawthorn scarf.

Outgoing Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett. Picture: Ian Currie

“It all worries me. I’m not saying the current board is perfect – at all – but there is a certain culture that has existed and served Hawthorn well for nearly 70 years.

“We had an election last year and we’ve got another election this year and, unfortunately, the members are not aware of the inadequacies of the candidates.”

Scott said the Hawks for Change group had demanded two key changes – the removal of Kennett and the club’s exit from poker machines.

“Getting out of pokies was part of Ian Silk’s platform last year and now he is chairman of Crown casino,” Scott said.

“He’s done nothing wrong but in a moral sense, it stinks. And when Merlino was acting Premier, he promised $15 million to Hawthorn – well, where is that money?”

Scott said he knew of at least one club great who would “cease his involvement at Hawthorn” if the board stoush was not swiftly resolved

‘Right the wrongs’: Gowers’ pledge to Hawthorn members

– Jon Ralph

Hawthorn presidential hopeful Andy Gowers says the club must elect a full-time general manager of Indigenous development as an urgent priority, pledging to return the club to its members if elected.

Gowers on Wednesday released his vision for Hawthorn which included more transparency from the board down and a determination to “right the wrongs” of the past.

The 1991 premiership player was the club’s football director in some of the years that are at the centre of First Nations racism allegations.

But in his first comments on that time he told the Herald Sun he had no knowledge of any of the accusations against Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan or Jason Burt.

Former Hawk Andrew Gowers is hoping to be the club’s next president.

In stark contrast to lawyer and presidential rival Peter Nankivell, Gowers said winning premierships at Hawthorn was in his DNA as a player and director.

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Gowers’ mission statement as he battles Nankivell for the presidency includes:

*Open and transparent board elections and a permanent nominations committee to ensure the best possible candidates in a range of roles.

*Regular gatherings both in person and in Town Hall-style online gatherings to bring back accountability and direct feedback between the board and members.

*Ensuring Hawthorn lived up to its mantra as the family club, stating: “I want to give the members more of a voice”.

*Ensuring the club can again pay 100 per cent of the football department cap to maximise spending on football excellence, “which we were not able to do in 2022 for well-documented reasons”.

*Bringing a “new style of leadership” after the instability of the past 12 months with the botched coaching succession plan, Hawthorn review and fight for power of the club.

Gowers believes he is better placed than Nankivell to unite the club after the horrendous allegations of racism against First Nations players and says budgeting for full-time support staff is the right place to start.

Andrew Gowers believes he is better placed than Peter Nankivell to be president of the Hawks.

“I am shattered like everyone else when we read those stories in the Egan report. If I am elected as president I would see it as my responsibility to right any wrongs of the past, this area included,” he said.

“For that reason I endorse the recommendation that Phil has made of a full time general manager of Indigenous development who would report to the CEO.

“My view is we need more permanent resources to be best practice and to drive the most rewarding relationships with our First Nations, staff, players and supporters.”

Of his own time as football director during that period Gowers made clear he never heard about any of the accusations at the heart of the AFL’s independent inquiry.

“Yes, I was football director on the board for part of the period covered by that report. But my “role was to be the major link between the board and footy department. No, I didn’t have any knowledge about any of those allegations. It is a voluntary role, I sat on the board, I was not a staff member.”

Nankivell has promised to emphatically support Sam Mitchell through the club’s far-reaching rebuild but Gowers made clear he had the football expertise to bring the club back to on-field prosperity.

“I am a supporter of the coach. The biggest point of difference is my DNA is football and thankfully it’s premiership football as a player and football director,” he said.

“I am really keen to drive the club back to being the destination club in the AFL, I have got 35 years of experience in the AFL, I have experienced it on and off the field before so I feel well placed to lead the club into its next era of success.”