End of an era for Hawks as John Kennedy snr statue moved to Dingley

THE RELOCATION of Hawthorn Football Club from Waverley Park to Dingley is almost complete after the iconic John Kennedy snr statue was carefully dismantled on Tuesday morning, packed on the back of a truck and driven out to the brand new Kennedy Community Centre.

Five of Hawthorn's living legends – Jason Dunstall, Michael Tuck, Peter Hudson, David Parkin and Peter Knights – watched on as the 350kg bronze sculpture of the three-time premiership coach was hoisted into the air, minutes after John Kennedy jnr and Hawks president Andy Gowers addressed the significance of the occasion.

The Hawks have gradually moved 20 minutes down the road to the club's new headquarters across the past fortnight. The first official board at the Kennedy Community Centre was held on Monday night. The final AFLW session will be held at Waverley Park on Tuesday, before moving on Wednesday.

When Sam Mitchell's AFL squad reports back for pre-season in November, everything will be in its right place, just in a new location. But before then, relocating one of the most famous statues in football was one of the final tasks required to complete a move almost five years in the making.

Kennedy jnr, who played in four premierships in the 1980s across a 241-game career that resulted in induction in Hawthorn's Hall of Fame, said the family is proud of the acknowledgment but stressed his father

"If he was here today he would be extraordinarily embarrassed".

"I know that for a fact – it would be very hard to get him to come, he'd be sitting at home refusing to come on the basis that it's not about me," Kennedy jnr said on Tuesday.

"From the family's point of view, we are very proud of what dad was able to achieve, but it was achieved on the back of a lot of other people, not just him, and I think that needs to be recognised. The people standing behind me here put enormous effort, blood, sweat and tears into the environment that created a winning mentality.

"These legends behind us and many others helped build this footy club. He wouldn't be any way shape or form consider himself to be the prime mover, he would say it was a group of us that took it on. From the point of view of the family, we're happy and proud for dad's sake that the football club have acknowledged him in naming the centre the Kennedy Community Centre."

Hawthorn hadn't played a single final in its history when Kennedy snr started wearing the brown and gold. They lost every game in his first season in 1950, but finally won their first premiership when he transitioned from playing to coaching by 1961.

The Hawks last moved in 2006 when they relocated from their spiritual home at Glenferrie Oval to Waverley Park at a time when the club was on its knees. All four premierships under Alastair Clarkson were won during the Waverley Park era, where the foundations have been laid for future success under Mitchell.

Dunstall was football director on the board when Hawthorn made the bold decision to leave its home for a new home at the old VFL Park. The Hawks had recently appointed an unproved first-time coach and hadn't reached a Grand Final since 1991.

"We needed to move; we were desperate to move. Inside the buildings at Glenferrie, the plumbing was shot, the floor would creak and there were big depressions in the timber floorboards. You were lucky to get hot water in the showers," Dunstall said.

"It was a thousand years old. It had had little makeovers, but we needed a new facility. Then 20 years later you need another one, that's the way it is. I tell you what, we've spent a lot more this time around then we did when we moved out here. We got a great deal to come out here."

Parkin and Hudson remarked how scary Kennedy snr was at times – no one argued with him – but both gushed about the impact the legendary figure had, not just on their careers but their lives.

"If I was being totally honest, other than my parents, there is absolutely no doubt that the person in my life that had the greatest impact on me as a person growing up, as a leader growing up and as a performer on the field was this man," Parkin said.

"He was by far the greatest influence on my career. John was a leader in the true sense of the word and had a massive impact on my life. I'm delighted that this is part of the heritage that will continue in the new venue."

Click here to read article