THE TUMULTUOUS relationship between Jeff Kennett and Alastair Clarkson will be revived, with the four-time premiership coach offered no promises beyond his current deal, which runs until the end of 2019.
Kennett has a long-stated position of those in senior leadership roles not lasting beyond nine years, a stance he didn't back down from when speaking to reporters in Cremorne on Wednesday.
The two often stoushed in Kennett's original reign as Hawthorn president from 2005-11, the most infamous in 2010 when Kennett wanted Clarkson dropped to the VFL after a poor start to the season.
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"Neither (of us) are sycophantic to the other, and I go back and just say to you, if you want to get the best out of people, you've got to have a good relationship with them. You might say, his and mine was a little too robust, I don't know. The point is it delivered the outcome that our members wanted," Kennett said.
Clarkson has been in charge for 12 years and is coming off a year when Hawthorn missed finals for the first time since 2009.
However, he was widely praised for revitalising a side that lost many of its defenders to injury, had gun recruit Jaeger O'Meara sidelined with right knee issues and saw Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis depart to West Coast and Melbourne respectively in the previous off-season.
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"I've always said that Clarko, he should go after 10 years, but the board at the time, and he, agreed to extend that contract. That's good and that's worked out very well for the club, so there's always the exception," Kennett said.
"I've got no idea what will happen as we get to the end of this contract.
"All I know is we've got him for two years … without knowing what will happen beyond that, don't lose sight of watching this space in the meantime.
"We're not here simply to occupy a position within the AFL. We are here to win."
Jeff Kennett timeline
2005: Jeff Kennett, a longtime Hawthorn supporter and former Victorian premier takes over as president. He replaces Ian Dicker, who helped save the club from a proposed merger with Melbourne in 1996. Kennett pledges to be low-profile and to let the administration and players do the talking. He is not true to his words.
2006: St Kilda finishes its arrangement for two home games a year at York Park in Launceston and the Hawks pounce, signing a new agreement to play four games a year there (having played two games a year there themselves since 2002) as part of a lucrative sponsorship deal with the Tasmanian Government. The new deal would underpin Hawthorn’s financial strength and provide the team with a pronounced home ground advantage.
2007: The Hawks return to the finals for the first time in six years as he unveils a garish, reversible brown and gold blazer to be worn only after wins.
2008: Hawthorn wins its 10th premiership, upsetting Geelong by 26 points in the Grand Final.
2009: On the eve of the season opener, Kennett says of Geelong on ABC TV, "What they don't have, I think, is the quality of some of our players; they don't have the psychological drive we have. We've beaten Geelong when it matters." The Cats would beat the Hawks in round one and on the next 10 occasions after that. His words would become known as 'Kennett’s Curse' and it was real.
Kennett casually suggests to Essendon it should chat to Hawthorn chief executive Ian Robson about its vacant CEO position. Sure enough, he takes the job.
2010: The Hawks start the season disastrously and drop to 1-6. In his weekly email to members, he writes, "Reputation and goodwill have been totally used up. Everyone is on notice. No excuses accepted. The coach has put the players on notice; I have done the same with the coaches, and I expect you, the members, to do the same with me." It later emerges that he suggested that Clarkson drop himself to the VFL for a week. If not for a lunging Sam Mitchell tackle on Shane Tuck in round eight that preserved a narrow win over Richmond, he would likely have sacked Clarkson.
Later that year, he calls League chief executive Andrew Demetriou a "benevolent dictator".
2011: Steps down as president at the end of the season, having served out his mandated six-year term. Andrew Newbold takes over.
2013: After yet another loss to Geelong, this time in the opening round, Kennett calls into 3AW post-match and suggests Clarkson should step down as coach.
During the season, as the depth of the Essendon drugs scandal becomes clearer, he calls for Demetriou to resign and says that Gillon McLachlan is not suited to be his replacement.
Caps off a big year by declaring Melbourne a rabble and offering to become president. "It doesn’t matter what club you support, Melbourne is the name given to our capital city. We’re all proud of our state, we’re proud of our city, we want our brand Melbourne to do well wherever it is utilised."
2017: As the Hawks crash to a 0-4 start, he again raises the prospect of Clarkson moving on. "Clarko has been there a long time, Eddie McGuire has been (Collingwood president) longer than the Ark – is this all good for those organisations?"
Returns as president in October, following the resignation of Richard Garvey. Pledges immediate support for the coach and expresses the wish to find a young and ambitious new chief executive.
