Dear members,
As we reflect on the passing of Allan Jeans, I have again given thought to our great Club.
Normally, clubs last forever, and individuals make contributions along the way.
But individuals can help define a club, for better or worse.
It is my considered view that Hawthorn, particularly since our entry into the VFL and then the AFL, have been particularly well served by a number of people. They have helped define our character; they have established a culture that is embodied in our overarching reference point as being the ‘Family Club’.
So many of those individuals have similar characters and values.
They are honest, hard working, invariably humble, and so often genuinely interested in the welfare of the people they are charged to lead.
In my lifetime, while tipping my hat to those who contributed before I was brown and gold, I think of Dr Jacob Jona, Dr Sandy Ferguson, Phil Ryan and Ron Cook as presidents, I think of John Kennedy Senior and Allan Jeans as coaches, and players from John Peck, Peters Hudson, Peter Crimmins, Leigh Mathews and many more.
It is too early to judge the contribution of more recent individuals, for the test must be those who made a lasting contribution or left a legacy, as opposed to those who simply contributed well in their time.
We are so fortunate at Hawthorn that the Club has been able to attract people to its ranks such as those I have mentioned. Throughout good and not so good times for the Club, the culture has prevailed.
The Family Club has become bigger than any individual, as it should.
That so many of our current players spent time with Allan Jeans over the last few months helps to pass that culture on to current generations of Hawks.
That John Kennedy and Phil Ryan are still so present among our ranks gives us the rock of decency, commonsense, and simple expression, on and by which we can measure our actions today.
Sadly, life is short but one of the great tests for any individual is how they conduct themselves in defeat or when under pressure.
Our role models have always conducted themselves with the utmost dignity. They have always put Club and others before self. They have that wonderful common ingredient of selflessness. They have all been genuinely interested in the welfare of others.
To Allan Jeans, we say thank you. But it is not goodbye, just only au revoir, for you will always be in the ether that surrounds and is the Hawthorn Football Club.
