ThePsychologist wrote:
IIRC Clarkson was appointed after a split vote as well.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/f ... 7291330994HAWTHORN was on the verge of imploding yet in late 2004, without a chief executive, with 1996 saviour Don Scott mounting a board challenge, and with a coaching vacancy yet again.
What they needed, according to the fans, was a prodigal son like Gary Ayres, Terry Wallace or Rodney Eade to return to the bosom of the club.
Instead they chose a scrapping little tagger best known for a Battle of Britain king hit and a modest AFL career.
It was as high risk as decisions on coaches come.
With Clarkson on his way to four premierships in eight years, it was also the greatest coaching appointment in history.
And at the centre of it were the only two men to sit through every interview — footy director Jason Dunstall and president Ian Dicker.
“There were nine of 10 blokes we did speak to and they were all relatively solid, but Clarko was the one where a couple of minutes in, I thought, ‘This bloke could coach our club’,’’ says Dunstall now.
“To me he was head and shoulders above the others. He just had such a great handle on how he wanted the game played.
“I loved the fact he had a teaching background, he had coached in a number of different environments (Central Districts, Port Adelaide) that had enjoyed success.
“It was just the perfect preparation. We were going to be a young team that needed to grow and learn and he just fit the bill on every front.
“We looked at (Terry Wallace) and we looked at Gary Ayres and Dermott (Brereton) stood down from the subcommittee when we looked past Ayresy because he was very much an Ayresy ally.