President Jeff Kennett has penned the following letter to members...

Good morning fellow Hawkers,

We take great pride in being the family club and try and assist our members who are going through challenging times.

We take great pride in our past heroes who laid the foundations of the values by which we try and live; The Kennedys, Arthurs, Jonas, Ryans, Scotts, Hudsons and Tucks. Not to mention the more recent individuals who help define our family; The Clarksons, Mitchells, Hodges, Rougheads and Burgoynes. Far too many to list.

The fact is we are a very competent and compassionate, family club.

Each of our competing teams are important, and when so often people talk to me about our AFL team, I remind them that our other children, our VFL Box Hill Hawks and VFLW Hawks are just as important. Then we have our netball team which has already won its Premiership and we have a wheelchair team too.

Like any family, each child is important and for each we wish the very best for them when competing.

Just as a win in the Under 10s is as important as a win for the senior team when your child is competing.

It is the same for all of us at Hawthorn Football Club.

I can imagine some of you might be upset that our run at this year’s AFL Grand Final has ended for us.

That is understandable. But please do not be so upset.

When I returned to the Presidency of the club last year my objective was that the team finish top 8 after last year’s fairly dismal showing.

I will admit our coach wanted to win the flag and that reflects Alastair Clarkson’s competitive spirit.

So, we exceeded my objective easily, having finished in fourth position at the end of the home and away series.

During the year we had some wonderful wins and some lazy losses, but we finished the regular season in good form.

In the two finals games we played we were comprehensively beaten by our opponents Richmond and Melbourne.

We make no excuses and congratulate both those teams on their victories. Remember you are often judged more by how you handle defeat than victory. We at Hawthorn make no excuses!

Importantly, the finals experience is invaluable for our young players and stands them in good stead for the future.

I have always believed that you cannot succeed in life until you have experienced defeat. Having been defeated twice in finals this year, it will ensure the playing group has added incentive next year to do better.

I do want to take this occasion to thank our players, under Jarryd Roughead’s leadership, for their efforts throughout the year.

I thank Alastair Clarkson, the coaches and football department for getting the team to where they did this year. It was no mean feat. And remember there is only so much a coach can do. On the day, the players on the ground determine the outcome of each game.

While we have the best coach in the competition, we have a few gaps in our on-field line up and we played several players for the first time this season. Next year we will continue to build.

So, three days after our defeat, we are all still here and we can walk tall and proudly as part of the family that is Hawthorn.

As you already know, our VFLW team has qualified for a place in the Grand Final on Sunday. Under Senior Coach Paddy Hill they have performed above expectations. Just remember, it was only last October we decided to embark on this journey of having a VFLW team under the Hawthorn banner.

The members of that playing group are incredibly committed and appreciative of the opportunity to be playing football for the Hawthorn Football Club.

They will be playing for the Premiership next Sunday at Etihad Stadium at 12.30pm. I hope as many of our members can come and lift them to glory.

If that was not enough of a reason to be at Etihad next Sunday, yesterday our VFL team under Senior Coach Chris Newman took home victory in a nail-biting finish. By the thinnest of margins, one single point.

Matters not! A point is a win, and it was the most exciting game.

Congratulations to all at Box Hill and Hawthorn for reaching this milestone and opportunity.

As an illustration of our family ethos at work, all our AFL team were present to see the Box Hill Hawks’ wonderful victory!

They will be playing at Etihad after our girls have competed in their Grand Final - a double header! Starting with the VFLW at 12.30pm and the VFL at 3.20pm.

All our football teams made the finals of their competition, two of the three will be playing in their respective Grand Final.

What a great effort! What a club! What a Family!

Hope to see as many of you as possible on Sunday.

Go Hawks

Jeff Kennett