Jeff Kennett reads the play in agreeing to president succession plan

Without even trying, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell appears in his short stint at the helm to have passed on his renowned ability to read the play to Hawks president Jeff Kennett, who has announced his willingness to end his tenure as club president before his term expires at the end of 2023.

That it’s a decision made in the club’s best interests is true, but it’s also the most sensible decision Kennett could make given the organised forces marshalling to remove him and the sound logic of their arguments for change.

If he tried to stay and fight rather than agree to an ordered handover to a successor recommended by a nominations’ committee consisting of board and non-board members, then the “Hawks for Change” group could spill his position by using the 2900 signatures they had gathered.

Front and centre: Jeff Kennett.Credit:Getty Images

They would prefer to use their momentum to introduce a nominations’ committee that will increase the prospects of broader representation of supporters on the board than engage in a struggle, albeit one they would have won, with a man who, despite his critics, has given time, energy and profile to the Hawks in two presidential stints.

Kennett might need to be reminded occasionally that the time he has bought for a seemly handover is finite, with the back half of next year the most palatable time for him to depart, after the nominations’ committee, likely led by Andrew Gowers, makes their recommendation on June 30 as to who should succeed him.

With Gowers unlikely to contest a board seat - one he would have won - Kennett has the chance to keep Tim Shearer on the board while former Australian Super boss Ian Silk, Kennett’s potential successor, and a man supported by those wanting change including several premiership players, gains the other seat up for grabs.

Kennett was only meant to serve one term when he returned to the club, so he was stretching the friendship of many when he decided to extend his tenure to the end of 2023 citing COVID-19 as the reason it was necessary.

Always confrontational, he took on the AFL and then turned his attention to the Andrews government’s policies during the pandemic, voicing his views regularly on social media. That is his right but when he is president of a club attempting to secure government funding for a new base in Dingley it could be described as less than prudent.

The decision-making around the future of Alastair Clarkson turned into a fiasco, with the club becoming a laughing stock as they tried to push a four-time premiership coach into a corner with the relationship between the two key pillars of the club problematic.

Kennett’s position as an arbiter of good governance disappeared when he had to defend the position the club found itself in of having to pay a departing coach $900,000 when he wasn’t working for the club in an era when football department soft caps were so tight. He also rattled a few cages when he told members to expect surprises during what turned out to be a flat trade period.

This weakened the president’s position against a well-organised and professional outfit such as Hawks for Change, who did not seek to overthrow the board or set off personalities against each other but merely built the numbers, got well-respected people to endorse candidates and spoke to people on the board.

In recent weeks the mood turned against Kennett, who, to his credit, never criticised the individuals putting themselves forward for election. He has decided to go at a time when he can rightfully argue many advances have been made on big-ticket items such as AFLW, Dingley, the coaching panel and their list direction while a clearer picture is emerging on Tasmania.

Kennett’s commitment has not wavered either, with the president making himself Hawthorn’s representative on the Box Hill board alongside Rob McCartney and Josh Vanderloo without fanfare in September as the clubs construct an affiliation deal.

Now the question is when will Kennett vacate the chair? It won’t be before June 30 unless he plays his cards badly from here, but the expectation is that it will be between then and the next annual general meeting just before the end of 2022.

He says his energy is high as he enters his final phase as club president and he will remain active in the community when his time at the club is up.

“There is plenty of do,” Kennett said. “Part of this [process] is designed to ensure [Sam] gets the support he needs, the players get the support and there is an organised transition.”

After such an un-Hawthorn-like 2021, the club - with Kennett’s support - is getting its wheels back on the tracks.

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