Shane Crawford among next crop of inductees into Hawthorn’s hall of fame
LIKE MOST of the 40 men he will join in Hawthorn Football Club’s hall of fame, Shane Crawford played his first and last game alongside premiership heroes.
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LIKE MOST of the 40 men he will join in Hawthorn Football Club’s hall of fame, Shane Crawford played his first and last game alongside premiership heroes.
Unlike the others, though, Crawford endured seasons in between dealing with a failed merger, sacked coaches and doubts about the Hawks’ future.
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“It was horrendous for a while. There were some really tough times,’’ Crawford said. “For a while the focus was largely on the off-field stuff and just trying to keep the club alive. It was a roller-coaster, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way because it made me appreciate it when success came.’’
The 1999 Brownlow Medallist will be inducted into the club’s hall of fame at the Luminare function centre on March 11, along with former players Russell Greene and Ernest Utting, and long-time administrator Max Elmer. The “awesome honour’’ comes three years after he was inducted into the AFL’s hall of fame, a reflection on the calibre of the Hawthorn version.
“The way I look at it is that I started my career when some of the absolute champions were getting towards the end — John Platten, Jason Dunstall, Darren Jarman, Chris Langford and Gary Ayres — and then I got to finish my career with some of the absolute greats of today — Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Jarryd Roughead, Buddy Franklin, Cyril (Rioli). So I got to share the field with some wonderful players and had a lot of fun doing it.’’
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson paid tribute to Crawford for “being the face of the Hawthorn Football Club’’ through the lean years and leading the way to back to where it is today.
“He was a really critical part of the four years that I had him in the lead up to the’ 08 Grand Final, when we needed to sell the vision and take us to premiership glory. We really needed him on board to show the way, and he did, along with guys like (Richie) Vandenberg, (Ben) Dixon, (John) Barker, Joel Smith.’’
The playing careers of Clarkson and Crawford crossed by five seasons, and the coach recalled he had “the unenviable task of trying to curb his brilliance’’ a few times and being stunned by work ethic, stamina and courage. “And one of the things about Crawf that goes unrecognised a bit is that he was a really polished user of the ball; he was a reliable goalkicker and made the most of his disposals.’’
Crawford chuckled that the pair “punched on a few times’’ on the field, but said he had reservations of a different nature when Clarkson edged out a few Hawthorn greats to be appointed senior coach in 2005.
“Well, I knew we had a coach who would do anything to win, it was just a matter of whether he could get the whole team going together,’’ Crawford said.
“My first meeting with him was interesting because I was very unsure about my future at Hawthorn. My heart was telling me I didn’t want to leave but there were opportunities to go elsewhere and in a winning team.
“Then Clarko tells me the young kids he was going to bring in probably wouldn’t be ready for AFL football and the team would struggle and lose a lot of games. He also told me he was going to move on a lot of my mates.
“It’s fair to say that I walked out of that meeting thinking “I’ve got to go’’. But my heart kept saying Hawthorn and I’m a big believer that you never give up when times are tough, you hang in there and work through it.’’
It was advice that stand Crawford in good stead in his final season, when knee tendinitis kept him out of eight of the first 14 matches. Crawford was told he ‘’was cooked’’, while Clarkson admits the coaches had real fears he wouldn’t get the four games needed to reach 300, let alone feature in the finals.
Crawford promised he would not put his hand up for selection unless he warranted a spot in the 22. He played in the three finals win, gathering 25 disposals in the 26-point Grand Final win over Geelong.
As was the case throughout his 16-season career, Shane Crawford was determined not to let Hawthorn down. And he didn’t.
HAWTHORN HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
SHANE CRAWFORD
305 games 1993-2008 (captain 1999-2004)
One of the most decorated players of the modern era, with a premiership (2008), a Brownlow Medal (1999), being voted the AFLPA most valuable player (1999) as well as four club best and fairests and four times selected in the All Australian team.
RUSSELL GREENE
304 games 1980-98 (120 with St Kilda, 184 with Hawthorn)
A popular clubman and leader who played in three Hawthorn premierships during the 1980s. Had his best year in 1984 when he won Hawthorn’s best-and-fairest, the AFLPA’s MVP and captained Victoria.
ERNEST “TICH’’ UTTING
101 games 1925-32 (preceded by 26 in the VFA)
Was a member of the inaugural Hawthorn VFL team that ran out in 1925, and was the first man to register 100 games in the brown and gold. His career included club best-and-fairests in 1927 and ’29.
MAX ELMER
Long serving committeeman, vice-president and treasurer, responsible for appointing John Kennedy Sr coach in 1960, and recruiting such players as Peter Hudson and Ron Cook.
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