5 October 2019, Melbourne, Australia
To watch video of Clarkson’s superb address, visit the Hawthorn website.
Well, we're doing things a little bit differently tonight. Get away from the lectern, Harf [Daniel Harford] has got that controlled tonight. Take Care of Our Own great song by Bruce Springsteen. Always got a Springsteen song. Got my cheat notes here because I haven't got the availability of the lecturn.
I want to tell you a couple of stories tonight. It goes right back to my childhood. I'm hoping that I can bring back some memories for you guys in terms of your childhoods, as well.
To challenge you guys, where did you fall in love with the game?
I'll tell you where I fell in love with the game.
I can remember it was 1977, I grew up in a family or a football family household, three older brothers, and an older sister. She didn't like the footy too much, but my three older brothers did.
But 1977 was the time, is a long time ago, plenty in the room, especially the young folk and particularly the players, not even born in 1977.
But I was nine years of age in 1977 in the little wheat belt town in Western Victoria, Kaniva, the Centenary Tests of cricket.
In Kaniva, you had two options, was cricket in the summer, and it was footy in the winter.
As soon as cricket season finished, you would nuggeting your footy boots, getting the footy out, and kicking it around as soon as cricket season was over. Similarly, end of September last game of the year, cricket bat, cricket balls out the next day.
That was our life. Wasn't a hell of a lot else going on in Kaniva. Thousand people, little community town.
But I'll never forget this. 1977 the centenary test, 100 years of cricket - MCG, for those that are of my vintage or older. You remember the game, Lillee took six wickets in the first innings of the English. Both teams, both the Australian team made 140, then we knocked over the Poms for less than a hundred. Lillee took six wickets, big Tangles Walker took four. Then the Aussies batted, made 400 something and the poms had to chase.
We ended up winning that test match by 45 runs. Ironically, exactly the same margin as Australia won 100 years earlier, 45 runs. But the day after, the cricket bats were in the cupboard, the footy boots were out getting nuggeted, tanned up ready for the season. And the Tommy Sharon, which I used to get my birthday was in April. Still is mind you, I got a pair of footie boots, but I always got a Tommy Sherrin.
I was a bit of a smart ass with the Tommy Sherrin, because I'd kick the absolute bejesus out of the footy, and I'd send it back to Tommy Sherrin about August each year, and just say it's gone out of shape, and they'd send me a new Tommy Sherrin. So, mum and dad only ever had to pay for one Tommy Sherrin for about 10 years.
A really important part of that phase for me was a realisation that I just loved this game. Centenary Test was over. Cricket was done. I had a love for both sports. I can't even explain why.
I can, a little bit. The only game that was televised to Kaniva, on radio in 1977, round one of the 1977 season, Richmond versus Fitzroy. Oh, I hated the Tiges, and Fitzroy, I had a bit of a soft spot for them because they hadn't won a premiership since 1944.
On this particular day. They beat the Tiges by 23 points. The scoreline 142 to 119 —shit. What's happened to our game in the last 40 years? Where do we see scores like that — but always just captivated. I was captivated by players like Francis Burke, and Kevin Bartlett. Who played for the Tiges. I was captivated by players like Gary Wilson and Bernie Quinlan, Laurie Serafini. These guys played for the Lions.
As I said, for some of the younger folk in the room, they're saying, shit, who are those players? Never heard of him before? Doesn't matter in the context of this, because I want to challenge you to pick someone on your table that you can have a discussion. When I get down from speaking some of the shit I'm going to talk about the next five minutes. I want you to have a discussion with someone on your table. It could be someone sitting next to you. It could be your partner, it could be your friend. It could be someone who's on the opposite side of your table. Have a discussion at some point on the night. Where did you fall in love with this game? Because that's where I decided that I wanted to do something special in this game.
I didn't know, how I was a long way from Melbourne, but the essence of the game, and the passion of which we all have, which is the reason why there's 1200 that fill this room, tonight. The majority of which are just so passionate about our club, and the journey that we're all on.
Unfortunately, along that journey, we sometimes lose perspective. This cracker right here included.
Their perspective, you probably recall — some of you would've been in the room, 2012, when we came here demoralised after losing to the Sydney Swans, favourites. Some of our best footy that we've played in the last 20 years, was played in 2012 and we didn't salute, but we sat in this room that night, and we spoke about Jarryd McVeigh losing his daughter. We spoke about Jill Meagher losing her life and we spoke about my brother-in-law who died of a brain tumour at 39 years of age and left a wife and two young children aged less than five. We spoke about perspective.
Then we made it human. We gave ourselves a chance for the next three years to win it, and we did. Then peanut here loses all sense of perspective, and thinks, "Okay, this game is all just about winning every year, because that's what we've done for the last three. Let's just do it again"
The challenge for us in a sense is to say it's not, we're not here to produce, Pete Nankerville spoke spoke about us just before, we're not here to produce, we want to win. Of course, we want to win, but we're not here to be produce, just winners, we're here to here to produce good people.
Our footy club is here with us to do with our administrative staff, our coaching staff, our players, our volunteers. Anyone, our supporters, our members. Anyone connected the Hawthorn, we want you to be better for the experience. There'll be some players in this room, that unfortunately their journey will finish pretty soon. Big rough nuts one of those, what was the word, Pterodact-ile Rough. The big Pterodactile. Is that the word? Is that a dinosaur of some sort?
I say that, because he asked me just before, ‘you got to get that into your speech somehow Clarko’. So, there it is Rough. I've got it out for you, lad.
But you'll probably recall a time this year we played the West Coast Eagles at the MCG … round … someone help me … round 15 … and lost by six points. We kicked something like, Oh shit, someone in the audience will be able to tell me, 8.16 or some bloody … there were a few challenges around our goal kicking coach that week, but we played really well, but lost on the scoreboard.
I think Reevesy will sit here, and acknowledge this. Jeff did too. I was as low as shark shit after that loss, and no matter what Reevesy could try to do, and Jeff to try to give me some sort of perspective. Usually with Jeffrey Gibb it's the other way around. I'm trying to give him perspective and he's trying to have standards and expectations so high. But on this particular occasion he was trying to have empathy, and comfort for me and say, "listen, it's not so bad. We played pretty well, but we just got beaten." I was nearly inconsolable.
Not in tears, but in a pretty low spot.
Then fortunately, despite our season looking like it was on the brink, five and nine, something happened that was pretty significant. The next week we played Collingwood, on a Friday night, and the focus of winning &and losing just went straight out the door. Why? Because we're saluting to absolute rippers. Ben McEvoy, Luke Breust played their 200th games. Who gives...
In terms of what they do, whether we win or lose, who cares? Really? It's just like go out and play our best, but no matter whether we win or lose, we're going to open a couple of cans after the game, and salute magnificent contributions that they've made to our footy club. Well, just the bonus. We knocked off the Pies that night.
Two weeks later, we play the Cats, top of the letter at that point in time, Liam Shiels, played his 200th game, best on ground Pup, I hope you get the votes tonight, lad. Another chance for us to actually say, here's a celebration of our people.
Not long after the Bullet or Silk as you guys all know him. 372 games. Wow. Unfortunately, we lost that game, but in terms of perspective. We didn't say anything about the game, what we did well, or what we did shithouse after the game. It was just like "Bullet, well done, mate. You've played more games than any indigenous flyer has ever played in this game."
We're in a little bit of a worry at this point in time, however, because it didn't seem just like win, lose or draw. We're pulling out the esky and having a few cans after a game.
Then I'm probably forgetting one somewhere along the line. But we get to play GWS in Canberra. Unfortunately, I got my shirt off on the Friday night, or Thursday night.
Which I get a text message from my daughter and my wife, simultaneously "Put away the blubber", but celebration, because the forecast is that we're going to be playing in snow! There has never been a game of AFL footy played in snow, and the Hawks have got the chance to play in it. You fucking, beauty!
In addition to that, we have named a debutante player. He's a refugee from Sudan, who's come via Ethiopia. For those ain't great at geographics. Is that right? Geographics? Geography. That is desert country. He plays his first game in the snow. Wow. What an unbelievable story for his family. What an unbelievable story, for our club. He plays his debut. This is the only game in AFL history that's ever been played in snow. We play it and we belt the Giants on their home deck.
The next week because we're good blokes at Hawthorn, the Pterodactile, plays his last game for our footy club. We're playing a little bit of a game, me and Rough for probably six weeks. We planned this. We didn't want to disrespect. Dewy and the Gold Coast Suns by announcing it early, because sitting there "Oh, well, who cares if we just playing the Gold Coast Suns? We'll just play anyone. It doesn't matter.
We didn't want to be like that Dewy is a great friend of ours. Mark Evans is a great friend of ours. We've got a lot of respect and regard for their club. No matter how tough they're doing at the present time. Plus things can happen in footy. We were hoping like hell that Birch, who is tracking at the same time to play 250 in that Gold Coast game. He's a great mate of Rough Nut’s. We're hoping that there'd be a double celebration. This is the vagaries of the game. Birch gets hurt. He can't get there.
We tell Rough six weeks out, and tell the public six weeks out, that Rough's playing in that game. Anything can happen in footy and you look like an absolute peanut. So, we leave it until the Monday. Rough, and then it's like Rough was saying, let's just leave it till Thursday until selection. It's just like, mate I'm going to get lynched if we don't announce it on the Monday. So, we eventually convinced Rough, let's get it out there, and then by the end of the week you'll be ready to play, and play he did six goals big fella, what a send off!
So, naturally enough we put the beers on after the game, again! Bit of a celebration of our people. What a magnificent finish to a magnificent career for our club. 15 years of unbelievably decorated service. Not just in terms of what he's able to do on field, but what he's able to do off field for our club. How he developed as a man.
The next week we played the West Coast Eagles, we've got 190,000 paid up members from Collingwood and Richmond rooting for the Hawks! There was a fair few West Coast members that weren't too happy when we knocked them off, though. But Richmond, Collingwood, and of course our 81,000, and a little bit more, Hawks members, were rapt with our performance, but it was Isaac Smith's 200th game for the Hawthorn footy club.
Another chance win, lose or draw to celebrate a fantastic career for our club, and not worry about the result. Just worry about our people. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, I wish I could have maintained that perspective through 16, 17, 18, and the first part of 19, perhaps a little bit better than what I have, because for a hundred years or longer, this club has always been just about it's people. If we continue to make it about our people, then whatever happens, win, lose, or draw really, who cares? If you're investing in one another as much as you possibly can, then the results and that sort of stuff, we'll just look after themselves.
Something really special happened at our footy club in Grand Final Week. Thank Christ something cheered us up in that week, because when you’ve been in finals, it's hard to actually sit through finals knowing that we got the capability of getting there, and we don't, we didn't get there.
Being Grand Final Week, the club organised a couple of things. The first one is they got together a group of our players, and their partners, and their children, which was great to see. Lakey down at the club. Hodgey was there, Mitch was there. Shaun was there, Poppy was there. Jordan Lewis was there. Mitch helped me out. Who have I missed? Haley was there. Sewelly wasn't there. I've got it on my cheat notes here. I'm going to have to go to them. I got Lewis, Roughead, Howe, Mitchell, White, Puopolo, Burgoyne, Hodge. I've got them all. That was pretty good. Having all of those enormous contributors to our club. Plus their partners plus their kids who have now grown up, some of them five years later from what they were in 2013 when some photographs were taken off them, one on the MCG in the confetti doing this sort of stuff. Beautiful photo. Lakey driving around in that fucking Gatorade truck.
Some beautiful images, but to see their kids, and to also once again get a bit of perspective, because Lakey's been going through some tough times, and for us to understand that we're trying to make everyone better people out of being associated and linked to our footy club. Lakey strange enough will be a benefactor of that too. going through it tough at the moment. But what usually happens when you go through it tough like that the pride of the male says, "Oh, I'm not going to lean on the club." Lakey lean on us. Lean on us. We're here to help you, mate. Like we are for anyone at Hawthorn.
Two days later, we had another function which is organised by Axel Foley, Nathan Foley, who runs their academy programme and next generation, that sort of stuff. He ran a programme where he invited all the father, son, daughters, of players who have played at the club in the last 20 years or so. Now, I can't remember all these names, so I'm reading them off. Nathan Thompson, Kris Barlow, Clinton Young, Crawf brought his for boys with Olivia. Ben Dickson, David Hale, Rick Ladson, Rayden Tallis, Brad Sewell, Steve Green, Paul Hudson, Scotty Maginness, Timmy Hazel, Richie Vandenberg, Mark Graham, Shaun Burgoyne, Michael Osborne, and there was kids everywhere. It was gold, it was absolute gold.
Let's just go to the screens, we've got about a two minute video, I reckon, maybe even less than that of just...
That was a pretty special day, because it was all about our people was particularly special for me — There's two things. One is there's a lot of players there like the Maginnesses, and the Hudsons, and the Barlows, and the Thompsons, and these sorts of guys who were of an era before my time at the club. You'd understand why Lado would be there, and Ozzy, and Vanders, and Dicko, Crawf. ‘Just like, Oh, I've still got a connection to the club, and I've got a bit of a connection to Clarko’. What was really significant to me was that these guys were saying to themselves, "Listen, I'm Hawthorn. All I need is an invitation to come back again and the invitation was forwarded, and we'll be doing that every year. it was just like such a fantastic day for our footy club.
The second part about it that's significant for us, it's really the essence of my whole talk. Remember where you were, if you can with that conversation that you have with someone, when you fell in love with the game? Really the Hawthorn footy club in a sense is just the vehicle for these lads to be on a journey with their partners, and eventually their families, which we saw so many of them there, just then. The Hawthorn footy club is just a vehicle, I was at a function in Grand Final Week with Leigh Matthews, and Leigh said, unfortunately through his whole career either playing or coaching, he didn't really find much fun in the game. It sort of surprised me a little bit. No fun in the game. He found challenge, and stimulation, but not much fun. Through the challenge and stimulation though there is just unbelievable growth, because there isn't a footballer, Rough Nut included. Wow. What about his journey? He’s had unbelievable highs, and unbelievable lows, whether it's to do with injury or illness of which to endure over his 15 years at our footy club. He's had just amazing support from Sarah, his own family, Sarah’s family, these extended mates, and the Hawthorn footy club, and the wider football community I might add that's helped him through a really, really tough period in his life. And we don't wish that upon anyone but he doesn't succumb because he got so much support around him. Hawthorn support, family support.
And it’s the journey of life, and this is what I'm saying. What happened to me for a couple of years there, where I lost that nine year old passion, and love, and essence of the game, which was just, I just got to find a way somehow to find that nine years of age back in Kaniva following a game, Richmond v Fitzroy on the radio, and somehow on that day, cause it's the only game that's broadcast on radio. We didn't even have colour TVs back there in Kaniva back then, we're the last town in the state to go under the proper telephone exchange. I can still remember a number, Kaniva 238, and sometimes you could hear the actual lady who was doing the connection, she'd still be on the line listening to your conversation. That was the life that I grew up with. I had that passion for the game. I had to find a way somehow from Kaniva to live my passion, and get involved in this great game.
But if we lose perspective along the way, the game becomes a prick, and none of us can allow that to happen. If you let wins and losses be the thing that determined and condition how we have an attitude towards our players, our coaches, our club, one another, the workplace, then we're going down the wrong track. Let's keep some perspective. Rough, you’re a beautiful, beautiful man, because you've given us such an opportunity to actually keep perspective in our lives well done mate, great career.
They gave me five minutes to speak, and I've just taken 35. So, sorry if this night goes an extra half an hour for you guys, especially the girls that want to get on the dance floor, but keep things in perspective. One last thing. We've got a video to play now, goes for about a minute, or a minute and a half. This is perspective. This is a video of our volunteers that gives heart & and soul to our footy club. No money. They just love the club. They love our players. They love our people, and they give their heart & soul, because they just love the club. Thanks guys. Cheers.