Happy new football year to all within the Hawthorn Family.
 
1 November each year is the official start to the next football season, which ends on 31 October 2011.

So the chase for a top four position begins today.

Let me share a few thoughts with you:

Season 2010 is behind us. A disappointing year, but not one that we have just accepted. All sections of the Club have been reviewed, and appropriate changes have been made for season 2011.

A number of players have been excused from our list. Each for different reasons. This has been difficult for our coaches, management and staff, because you get to know all members of the family well, and each player will be genuinely missed.

Sport is a tough profession, be it an individual or a team sport. And AFL football no different than any other sport. When continually trying to improve the team's performance, some individuals simply do not make the grade, others are victim to position competition, and from time-to-time some simply do not make the effort to justify their continuing within the squad.

So to Simon Taylor, Cameron Stokes, Carl Peterson, Beau Dowler, Garry Moss, Wayde Skipper, Beau Muston, Michael Johnston, Jarrod Kaylor-Thomson and Rhan Hooper we say thank you.

You will always be welcome at the Club and as all bar one of you are the proud holders of the player's tie (for having played at least one senior game at Hawthorn FC), your name will be recorded in our player records.

Regardless of the reason we will miss all players not selected for next season. They leave the Club better skilled, better educated for whatever they chose to do next, and we at Hawthorn wish them well.

The same can be said for the coaches who left our ranks: John Barker and Rick Macgowan. We are indebited to them for their contribution and wish them well for their future.

All in all we have acted on last season's disappointment, and I do not intend to refer to the past year again. We have learnt, we have made changes, and we are focused on next year.

Finally, and importantly, I on behalf of the Board and members, thank Sam Mitchell for his Captaincy of the Club for the last three years, and for the most gracious way in which he handed the captaincy over to Luke Hodge.

Season 2011 starts today.

The Club has three new coaches in Leon Cameron, Brendon Bolton and Damian Carroll.

Leon has occupied an assistant coaching role at the Western Bulldogs and comes to Hawthorn highly recommended. Brendon joins us from a very successful period as coach at our affilliated club in the VFL, the Box Hill Hawks. Both men are highly driven, experienced and will add value to Alastair Clarkson's team.

We also welcome Damian Carroll, who has joined us as a Development Coach and Box Hill Hawks Senior Coach for 2011.

We have selected two new players through the trade period in David Hale from North Melbourne and Kyle Cheney from Melbourne. Both will add to our team's depth and flexibility on the field.

Draft week will be soon upon us with more selections to be made, but there is no doubt many of our younger players who have been building their skills over the last two seasons will be given great opportunities this year.

We have our new Captain in Luke Hodge - our Peter Crimmins Medallist for the second time in season 2010, our general on the field, and well-tutored under Sam Mitchell to step up to the Captaincy. Luke will ask no more from anyone than he gives himself, and will set the highest standards for the playing group.

But look out for anyone who fails to meet Luke's standards. Reputations will count for nothing.

Other issues:

The fixture for the season. My only complaint has been that the AFL did not allow Hawthorn to play two Victorian teams in Tasmania as part of our arrangements with Tasmania.

This goes very much against the spirit of our agreement with the AFL, and given we are the banner carriers for the AFL code in Tassie, it is a pity the AFL administrators could not have respected the huge support for the code in Tasmania.

Tasmanians have every reason to be disappointed with treatment of them by the AFL. Again.

I have been incorrectly quoted by at least one media group that suggested I believe the AFL's draw had given Collingwood a free kick and inside running to another premiership.

What I did say was with 14 games at the MCG, four at Etihad, and only four games interstate - and the first not until Round 14 - the AFL have again disadvantaged other teams from the opportunity to play games at the MCG. In particular interstate teams.

You remember last season Fremantle had played no games at the MCG until they played, and lost, the Elimination Final there.

The AFL's response to my comments was to say that all Clubs want to play Collingwood as a home game at the MCG. True, but it is not the real reason.

It is no longer the AFL but the media that increasingly sets the draw. Because the media pay the AFL a very large amount of money for the media rights, they basically have the right to set the program to maximise their return on investment.

Again understandable, and Collingwood has the largest number of supporters, but the result is that the competition for the premiership is not an equal contest between 17 teams.

This has become a fact of life. The AFL could have attempted to make the competition more balanced, but their obligations to their media partners has negated the ideal of making the competition as equal/fair as possible.

Contract wth Tasmania. I expect the Tasmanian Government to discuss our contract extension with them for the years 2012 to 2016, five years in Cabinet on Monday, and the Club to be informed of their decision later that week.

This process was meant to be concluded by 30 June this year but has been delayed because of the State election in Tassie, and other issues that have been raised by the AFL and the Tasmanian Government over the last few weeks.

We have had our submission in with the Tasmanian Government for some weeks, and we now just await their decision. Let's hope it allows Hawthorn to build on its very real investment in Tassie and with the Tasmanian community.

Membership. When at the Club on Friday I saw that 4,996 individuals had already taken up their membership for 2011. The week before the new season actually starts. I expect this week and next to produce a flurry of activity in our Membership department as members rush to renew for what will be a wonderful season.

Last year we finished the year with 54,473 - again a Club record - and the first AFL Club ever to have more than 50,000 members in consecutive years.

This year we aim to do better, so please re-join quickly, that way we can ensure we get you your fulfillment package before Christmas, and the team can be excited that when they run onto the field for each game next year, there will be a sea of brown and gold, and an army of voices to greet them.

Enough I hear you say, and fair enough. At least for now. But I will be back soon.

Suffice to say the Club is in great shape, and all of us are champing at the bit for the first game next year.

Speak soon.

Jeff Kennett
President