President Jeff Kennett has penned the following letter to members.
Good morning one and all.
Well a lot has happened since I last wrote. The bye was my first excuse for not writing sooner, and then a week in Darwin and another interstate trip. Sorry.
The game against Adelaide on Saturday night was the win we needed to keep our finals hopes alive.
While one victory does not a final eight entry make, it does as i say keeps our hopes alive.
Given the evenness of the competition at the top of the leader board, not only will winning games become important but I suspect percentages might be the final determinant.
So, we must keep winning and winning well.
On Saturday night after a lacklustre first half the team opened up to deliver a comfortable win at the last siren.
That win was an appropriate salute to Shaun Burgoyne, who was playing in his 350th game. With 157 games at Port Adelaide including a premiership in 2004, and 193 games for Hawthorn including three Premierships in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Shaun is evergreen. Silky of course, but always consistent.
A remarkable effort in this day and age, and at this stage there is no end in sight to his career. What I did not know is that Shaun has the second most finals appearance of any AFL footballer, after our own Michael Tuck. No wonder he is increasingly referred to as one of the games greats!
Shaun is a wonderful individual, with great values and is an inspiration, not only to our playing group, but to all young players of the code.
Shaun has great personal values, and consistently pays tribute to his wife Amy and their four children for supporting his career. He also recognises the opportunities the Hawthorn Football Club has given him. He is a true clubman. Keep on keeping on, Shaun!
Sunday passed saw a remarkable luncheon celebrating our 1978, 1988 and 2008 premierships.
It was wonderful to see so many members of each of the teams in attendance. Sharing memories, catching up with colleagues and enjoying the brown and gold life blood we all share.
From our 2008 team, Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Stuart Dew and Lance Franklin all made the effort to attend (whatever colours they may wear now, temporarily, they will always be Hawks and very welcome at our functions and our club).
There are so many we should salute for building the culture that exists today. Sadly, many have passed on. But yesterday reminded me of the importance of our current players having better knowledge of those players who have played before.
To that end the club and the Past Players Association, under John Kennedy Jnr’s leadership, is putting a lot more work into connecting with all living past players. Together we will ensure the club hosts functions where we bring the players of the past to those of the present. You will hear more of this as the months unfold, but Sunday's function was highly successful, and a great idea staging it as a luncheon rather than a dinner.
I have been assured we will place on our website the interviews from each of the three teams who we were saluting. Great to watch and hear, and in many cases very funny.
I do want to place on record the hard work of all in our events department, who always ensure our events are a remarkable success. Thank you.
My one sadness at Saturday night’s game was the small attendance of 26,000. We, as a club approaching 80,000 members, should be able to do better than that in future. I know the weather was cold and there were a lot of sporting activities occurring, but our boys need to hear our voices, so please try to attend the rest of the games if you can. Next week we go back to Launceston to take on Gold Coast. I hope to see you there.
As I said above we are approaching 80,000 members so we need a sprint to the line please. If you have not yet signed or if you know of someone who should be a member, please sign them up in the next two weeks.
Our VFLW team had a very convincing win against St Kilda at the weekend. Well done girls! They have won four out of the five games they have played to date and are sitting in the top four.
Our men’s VFL team are sitting 5th in their competition, with only two games separating first and 5th. So, we are competitive at all levels, but as we remind ourselves, it is all about the next game.
In short exciting times at Hawthorn. Stay warm and safe. Now to Launceston.
Cheers,
President
Jeff Kennett
