HAWTHORN FOOTBALL CLUB

'Hawthorn Football Club', nicknamed 'The Hawks', are an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). They play in brown and yellow vertically striped guernseys.
The Hawks' origins are in the inner eastern Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn and Glenferrie Oval. Glenferrie Oval has traditionally been the club's administrative and training base and social club in Linda Crescent in Hawthorn. Matches have not been played there since 1973, when home matches were moved to Princes Park. In 2006, they moved their administration from Glenferrie to Waverley Park - in Melbourne's Outer East, and will play 4 games a year in their second home of Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania from 2007. The remaining 7 home games will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

Contents

Club History

Early years

Entry to the VFL

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s Pt 1 - The Peter Schwab Era

2000s Pt 2 - The Clarkson Era

Current Season

Club Honour Board

Current Issues & Merger debate

Corporate

Membership base and Home crowds

Presidents

Premierships

Pre-Season Premierships

Individual awards

Best and Fairest

Brownlow Medal winners

Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

Coleman Medal winners

Norm Smith Medal winners

Michael Tuck Medal winners

Alex Jesaulenko Medalist

All Australian Representitives(AFL only)

National team representatives (since 2005)

Current squad

Team of the Century

Australian Football Hall of Fame players

Club jumper

Club song

References

External links

Club History

Early years

The origins of the Hawthorn Football club are obscure and subject to much debate. Very few records were kept and the early history subject to interpretation and embellishment.
The official club history books and many supporters strongly believe that the club's origins date back to its founding in 1873 at a meeting at the Hawthorne Hotel. Although a Hawthorn Football Club did indeed form at this time and the region has since continuously been represented by a football team, it is unclear if it is related to the Hawthorn which competes at AFL level today. It is more likely that today's club is actually the third club to carry the name "Hawthorn Football Club". The Daily Telegraph Saturday May 12 1883:- "The Hawthorn Club having disbanded, all engagements for the ensuing season have been cancelled.". In 1889, the Riversdale Football Club (formed in 1880) is reported to have changed its name to the Hawthorn Football Club ^[1]. This club also ceased in 1890. No Hawthorn club existed in 1890 - 92.
A new representative club, called the "Hawthorn Football Club" was formed in 1893, which competed in the Victorian Junior Football Association until 1898. Without a ground to play on the club was disbanded in 1899.
In April 1902, Alf Kosky formed a club from the various district club under the banner of Hawthorn Football Club to compete in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association. The club merged with Boroondara in 1905, and in 1912, Hawthorn merged with successful junior club the Hawthorn Rovers to form the Hawthorn City Football Club to become part of a successful council push to have a club in the prestigious VFA.

Entry to the VFL

The club was relatively late in joining the Victorian Football League (VFL), the predecessor of the AFL. It did so in 1925 as the "Hawthorn Football Club", at the same time as Footscray and North Melbourne, all three coming from the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
The 'Mayblooms', as they were known then became the perennial whipping boys of the competition. They had an almost casual attitude towards playing football and were not able to even pay their players the match payment then allowed by the Coulter Law. Despite the presence of a number of truly classy players such as Bert Hyde, Bert Mills, Stan Spinks, Alec Albiston and Col Austen, Hawthorn in the first seventeen years never won more than seven games in season. The club's nickname changed from the Mayblooms or 'Mayflowers' to 'Hawks' in 1943, a promising season in which the club missed the finals only by percentage. However, Hawthorn immediately returned to the bottom of the ladder, consistently competing with St. Kilda for the wooden spoon. Between 1944 and 1953 the club finished last or second last in every year but one, and in 1950 they did not win a match.
The arrival of Jack Hale as coach was the decisive step in the movement of Hawthorn away from the bottom of the ladder. He eliminated the casual attitude that prevailed at the club during its first thirty years in the VFL and made the club greatly less accepting of defeat than before. Although Hawthorn finished last in 1953, from the following year improvement was steady. Hawthorn won eight games each in 1954 and 1955 as against no more than five in any season from 1946 to 1953, whilst the following year, although the seniors showed a slight decline to seven wins and a draw, the reserve grade side gave them their first finals appearance in any grade. The following year the senior team broke through to their first finals appearance, in which year Cyril Collard became the first indigenous Australian to play for Hawthorn. After three seasons in mid-table Hawthorn went further than ever before in 1961, winning their first premiership by defeating Footscray. 1960 Club Champion Brendan Edwards was acknowledged as the star of this win which marked the first of three flags for coach John Kennedy, a Hawthorn legend.
However, Hawthorn fell right back in 1962 winning only five games, and despite rising temporarily to runners-up in 1963 they fell back again to be last in 1965 with only four wins. They struggled for the rest of the 1960s until Peter Hudson joined them and immediately became the competition's best full-forward. In 1968 he kicked 125 goals, in 1969 120, and in 1970 a home-and-away record of 146 goals. Despite this, Hawthorn still failed to make the finals, but the acquisition of the powerful Mornington Peninsula recruiting zone gave the club a huge boost in its quest for success and permitted the club a much more powerful list then ever before.

1970s

In the 1970s Hawthorn had more success winning three flags. During the 1970s a strong rivalry grew with North Melbourne and they met in three grand finals with the Hawks prevailing twice.
The '1971 Grand Final' was between Hawthorn (coached by Hawthorn legend John Kennedy Snr) & St Kilda coached by Allan Jeans who would later move to Hawthorn and enjoy success as the Hawks coach in the 1980s. The match was played before 118,192 people at the MCG on a fine and sunny Melbourne day. Hawthorn went into the match without inspirational centre half back Peter Knights who had suffered a severe knee injury two weeks earlier. A hard tough game, the Saints led the Hawks by 20 points going into the last quarter. Hawks 5.7.37 to the Saints 8.9.57. For the Saints however as coach Allan Jeans was to comment "The season was just 25 minutes too long" as 'Kennedy's Commando's' (the term given to the team after the coach's tough physical training program and loudly proclaimed in the huge banners that swept around the MCG (now sadly replaced by advertising signs)) came into force. The Hawks moved Peter Hudson out to centre half forward and Bob Keddie into the goal square. The Hawks slammed on seven goals to three in that final quarter with Keddie kicking four to run out winners 12.10.82 to the Saints 11.9.75. The final term saw ten goals being scored.
The '1976 Grand Final' was inspired by the illness of former vice-captain Peter Crimmins who died a week after the victory from cancer, and by the humilating defeat of the 1975 Grand Final loss to the North Melbourne Kangaroos. The Hawks greats such as the prolific goal-kicker Peter Hudson, rover Leigh Matthews, back pocket & future coach David Parkin, ruckman Don Scott, full back Kelvin Moore and centre half-back Peter Knights played through this era. The Hawks were in control for most of the day, with John Hendrie being voted best on ground.

1980s

Their greatest era was undoubtedly the 1980s, where the team won four premierships and played in the grand final seven years in succession, including three in a row against arch enemy Essendon. The decade started poorly, with Hawthorn falling to eighth and seen by most critics as a spent force. However, the power of their recruiting zones made sure this was not to be.
The first of four Grand Final wins for the decade was in 1983, with Hawthorn (20.20) defeating Essendon (8.9). 1983 would mark Hawthorn being in the finals for 13 years in a row. Their second premiership would come three years later in the 1986 Grand Final, which saw Hawthorn (16.14) defeat Carlton (9.14). The decade closed on a high-note for the Hawks, who would win back to back premierships first in 1988 (22.20) against Melbourne (6.20), and again a year later in 1989, (21.18) against Geelong (21.12). Their fast-paced style of play was copied by the West Coast Eagles who became the powerful club of the early 1990s. Other clubs have had success since but none have matched the dominance of the Hawks in this period. Leading players of the 1980s included Dermott Brereton, Gary Ayres, Michael Tuck, Jason Dunstall, Gary Buckenara, John Platten and Chris Langford.
The 1989 Grand Final victory over Geelong is widely regarded as one of the greatest and toughest Grand Finals in the history of the competition^[2].

1990s

In 1992 they moved their home games to Waverley Park in Mulgrave in Melbourne's south-east after previously sharing Princes Park with Carlton. To further strengthen their links with the area a second social club was established nearby at the Waverley Gardens shopping centre. The club, which operates as a gaming venue, has also been a lucrative source of revenue for the club. The Hawks won their most recent grand final in 1991 as well. Grand Final day 1991 was an historic occasion. It was the only Grand Final played at Waverley Park and featured the first ever appearance by a non-Victorian team on the big day. West Coast had dominated the home and away season but Hawthorn, written off by many early in the season, had slowly gathered momentum and had stunned the Eagles by winning the first ever Final played outside Victoria. West Coast began the re-match kicking with the aid of a strong wind blowing down to the main scoreboard end and kicked the opening four goals. However, from that point the Hawks began to gain the ascendancy and, apart from inaccuracy in the second term, would have had a significant half time lead. Having maintained the half-time margin, against the wind, in the third term, the Hawks slammed on 8.4 to 1.3 to win a fifth Flag in nine seasons. Michael Tuck, Chris Mew, Gary Ayres and Dermott Brereton had played in all five. A feature of the Hawks’ performance was that its two best players – Paul Dear and Stephen Lawrence - were from the team’s younger brigade. It was to prove to be Michael Tuck’s last game and he bowed out with the League record for games (426), finals (39), Grand Finals (11) and Premierships (7).

2000s Pt 1 - The Peter Schwab Era

Peter Schwab was made coach of the Hawks for the 2000 season. The Hawks reached the semi-final before losing to the reigning premiers the North Melbourne Kangaroos. Made steady progress all over the field. Daniel Chick and Nick Holland were the joint winners of the Best and Fairest.
In 2001 the Hawks again enjoyed a successful year, but it was to be their last for several seasons. The Hawks won 8 games straight at the start of the season and, despite faltering in the middle part of the year, made it to the Preliminary Final, which they narrowly lost to Essendon. In the off-season, Hawthorn traded Trent Croad and Luke McPharlin for the no.1 Draft Pick Luke Hodge, and no.36 Sam Mitchell. In retrospect, the Hawks are seen to have won this trade. Trent Croad would, ironically, return to Hawthorn two years later via a trade of pick 10 Ryley Dunn, citing home sickness as a reason for his departure.
The Hawks missed the finals altogether in 2002. The Hawks finished 10th, which was considered to be a very disappointing result for the club. Shane Crawford won the Best and Fairest after another stellar season. In the off-season, the Hawks again proved to be big players, and snared the services of super-star ruck man Peter Everitt.
After a poor start to the 2003 season, the Hawks went on to finish the second half of the year strongly and finished in 9th place, narrowly missing the finals. Sam Mitchell shone for the Hawks and won the Rising Star Award. This form had punters excited and the team were early favourites for a top 4 finish the next year. Shane Crawford once again won the Best and Fairest, with 'Crawf' also coming second in the Brownlow medal, by a single vote.
During the 2004 pre season Hawthorn coach Peter Schwab declared that the Hawks would be aiming to win the premiership although this statement would be followed by a horrific season for Hawthorn as the Hawks managed just 4 wins and 18 losses. The club imploded, and by mid-season coach Peter Schwab was sacked, and Captain Shane Crawford broke his arm, and eventually relinquished the captaincy. Following the collapse of the club on the field, many players either left or were sacked from the club. Nathan Thompson left the club citing a fresh start following his admission that he suffered from depression. Raydon Tallis, Mark Graham, Kris Barlow and Lance Picione were also released from the club. More than 700 games of experience left the club following the season.

2000s Pt 2 - The Clarkson Era

Alastair Clarkson was appointed coach before the conclusion of the 2004 season and promptly delisted many players who were either underperforming or not fitting in with his youth policy which he embarked on to rebuild the club. The Hawks took Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis at picks 2, 5 and 7 respectively in the AFL Draft. In the pre-season AFL Draft, former Hawk Trent Croad who had played for the Fremantle Dockers for 2 years returned to his original side.
With Clarkson at the helm, the Hawks made solid progress, and instituted a culture of discipline at the club. The Hawks won only 6 games and played a widely criticised high-possession gameplan and finished in 14th position. Hawks fans still deemed it to be a somewhat successful season. Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis all won Rising Star Nominations. Shane Crawford also had a return to form after a terrible 2004 when he broke his arm, and finished 3rd in the Peter Crimmins Medal.
The success story of the year was former No.1 Draft Pick Luke Hodge, who became a super-star off half back, winning the Peter Crimmins Medal, All-Australian jumper and coming equal 4th in the Brownlow Medal, collecting 15 votes. Peter Everitt and Trent Croad were also named in the All-Australian team.
The Hawks were again busy in the off-season, trading players for draft picks. The Hawks ended Trade Week with 5 top 20 draft picks, further reinforcing their youth-policy.
In 2006, after a flyer start, being 4-1 Win/Loss ratio after the first 5 rounds, the Hawks faltered and fell to a 6 game losing streak before breaking the drought against Richmond in round 12, when Lance Franklin booted 6 goals. A further 6 game losing streak ensued, before another 6 goal burst from "Buddy" in round 19 against Carlton was the spark to a final 4 game winning streak, which helped the Hawks leap frog Port Adelaide, the Kangaroos, and Brisbane to finish the year in 11th place.
Despite finishing the 2006 season in 11th place, the Hawks have supporters excited and have a lot of talent to work with in the years to come. Their run-with-the-ball game style has been praised, and as a result Coach Alastair Clarkson was rewarded with a new 2 year contract after the mid-season break.
The Hawks also relocated their administrative headquarters from Glenferrie Oval, and moved to Waverley Park in the early stages of 2006. Glenferrie Oval still remains the spiritual home of the football club.
At the end of the 2006 season, the Hawks increased their commitment to Tasmanian market - where they have developed a large support base - with 4 games to be played at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, involving the Tasmanian government becoming an official sponsor of the club, in one of the biggest sponsorship deals in Australian sporting history^[3] worth $15-20 million dollars.
The remaining 7 home games and several away games will be played at the MCG, giving the club a significant number of home and away games at the ground.
The club recorded its 10th consecutive year-end profit at the close of the 2006 season ^[4]

Current Season

Round	Opposition Team	Venue	Result	Game Summary
1	Brisbane Lions	Gabba	Loss	The Hawks had a disastrous start to season 2007, hammered by the Brisbane Lions after the Hawks played a style of game described as wasteful and over possessive. Lions by 25 points - 9.15.69 to 6.8.44 [5]
2	Melbourne Demons	MCG	Win	On Easter Monday, they bounced back and defeated Melbourne, in a game which saw Brad Sewell restricting key Demon Travis Johnstone to just eight touches of the ball. Following the match, Luke Hodge signed a two-year deal with the Hawks. Hawks by 22 points - 17.14.116 to 14.10.94
3	Kangaroos	Telstra Dome	Win	Round 3 saw the Hawks manage an un-pretty win against the Kangaroos. The Hawks struggled in the first half and went into the second half down by 10 points. The Hawks broke free from the Kangaroos in the second half, with their lead at one point blowing out to 5 goals. Late goals to the Kangaroos bought it back to 21 points by the final siren, best players were Sam Mitchell with 33 disposals, Mark Williams with 4 goals and for the second week running Brad Sewell. Hawks by 21 points - 13.13.91 to 10.10.70
4	Geelong Cats	Aurora Stadium	Win	Round 4 in Tasmania hosted a windy and scrappy game, with Hawthorn coming from behind to defeat Geelong, after the Cats led at every break. Hawks by 4 points - 10.16.76 to 9.18.72
5	Western Bulldogs	MCG	Loss	Hawthorn waste golden opportunites all day, eventually going down to the Bulldogs. Trailed by as much by 38 points, but a spirited comeback just falls short. Bulldogs by 17 points - 16.14.110 to 13.15.93
6	Essendon Bombers	MCG	Win	Round 6 was memorable for emerging star forward Lance Franklin, who kicked 9 goals in Hawthorn's defeat of Essendon. This was considered a remarkable feat, and had not been achieved by a Hawthorn player since Jason Dunstall in 1996. Hawks by 35 points - 20.11.131 to 15.6.96
7	Fremantle Dockers	Subiaco	Loss	Hawthorn, 28 points up early in the second term, looked to be cruising, before a Docker barrage of goals. Hawthorn, still in front at the 11 minute mark of the final term could not hold out the Dockers, who ran out winners. Dockers by 15 points - 14.12.96 to 11.14.80
8	St Kilda Saints	MCG	Win	Both clubs accused of flooding and playing a poor standard of football, only 7 goals are kicked to 3/4 time, before Hawthorn power away in the last quarter. Hawks by 28 points - 10.12.72 to 6.8.44
9	West Coast Eagles	Aurora Stadium	Win	Big coming of age win over the reigning premiers in Tassie. Another thrilling match up between Brad Sewell and Chris Judd, who was accused of eye-gouging Campbell Brown. Judd was cleared. Hawks by 35 points - 15.9.99 to 8.16.64
10	Port Adelaide Power	AAMI Stadium	Win	After a slow start, a formidable Hawthorn deconstructed several strong Port Adelaide charges in the third quarter to stride to their 3rd straight win. Hawks by 34 points - 17.7.109 to 10.15.75
11	Sydney Swans	MCG	Loss	Peter Everitt's first game against his old club. Lance Franklin starred with six goals out of a total of 9, but that wasn't enough as the Swans emerged victors.Swans by 9 points - 11.9.75 to 9.12.66
12	Carlton Blues	Telstra Dome	Win	Hawks were strong all night against the Blues beating them by an even 100 points (the first time the Hawks have done this since 1992). Roughhead kicked 5 goals, Hodge 4, while Boyle, R Ladson, T Croad scored 3 goals each. Hawks by 100 points - 27.18.180 to 12.8.80
13	Collingwood Magpies	Telstra Dome	Win	A tough, tight match - the game was billed as being a potential prelude to the finals. Hawthorn held onto a narrow lead all day, aided by their own accuracy and Collingwood's lack of it. The Hawks were challenged when the Pies kicked three quick goals to steal the lead at the 17 minute mark of the final term, but Osborne and Roughead steadied the ship. Hawks by 8 points - 15.5.95 to 12.15.87
14	Adelaide Crows	AAMI Stadium	Loss	The Hawks were smashed, kicking a total of 4.7 (31), their lowest score since 1975. Crows by 71 points - 15.12.102 to 4.7.31
15	Richmond Tigers	MCG	Win	After trailing early in the match, the Hawks won comfortably. Jarryd Roughead kicked five, Lance Franklin four. Hawks by 53 points - 19.15.129 to 11.10.76
16	St Kilda Saints	Telstra Dome	Loss	Hawthorn lost by 17 points in what was Saints captain Luke Ball's 100th game. The Hawks never looked capable of taking the points despite Franklin kicking the last 3 goals of the match in time on. Saints by 17 points - 14.11.95 to 11.12.78
17	Kangaroos	Aurora Stadium	Loss	Hawthorn lost a rare game in Tassie, their inaccurate kicking proving costly against the superior Kangaroos outfit. Missing key players (Franklin and Mitchell), also proved severely costly. Beau Dowler played his first match for season 2007, and kicked his first two goals in his AFL career. Travis Tuck, son of Hawthorn legend Michael Tuck, debuted and it seemed like a good decision to reveal a new player to AFL football. Kangaroos by 37 points - 16.12.108 to 10.11.71
18	Essendon Bombers	MCG	Win	Hawthorn answered their critics with a thrashing of Essendon, in doing so reclaiming a spot in the top four. Franklin's four goals raised his hopes of a rare Coleman Medal win. Hawks by 63 points - 17.17.119 to 7.14.56
19	Brisbane Lions	MCG	Win	A determined Hawthorn outplayed and outran a competitive Brisbane Lions team, to avenge their round 1 defeat, with a convincing victory, cementing a finals birth for 2007 - their first since 2001. Hawks by 24 points - 17.13.115 to 13.13.91
20	Port Adelaide Power	Aurora Stadium	Loss	Hawthorn suffered undoubtably it's most shattering loss of the season, going down to Port in the final seconds of the match after holding on to a narrow lead through most of the final term. Power by 5 points - 12.15.87 to 12.10.82
21	Western Bulldogs	Telstra Dome	Win	This was a great team effort by the Hawks, coming back from a 5 goal deficit to win comfortably in what ended up being a 115 point turnaround. Luke Hodge starred with 34 possessions and 6 goals. Hawks by 84 points - 22.19.151 to 10.7.67
22	Sydney Swans	SCG	Loss	Hawthorn left their biggest and most disappointing loss to the end of the season, going down in embarrassing circumstances to a highly fancied Sydney Swans outfit. Trailing 14 goals to 3 at half time, the Hawks were never in the contest, with only a little burst in the 3rd quarter avoiding a complete white wash. A costly loss for the Hawks, as it denied them a spot in the top 4. The Hawks must now play an in-form Adelaide Crows in an Elimination Final at the Telstra Dome. Swans by 72 points - 22.9.141 to 10.9.69
EF1	Adelaide Crows	Telstra Dome	Win	The Hawks, playing in their first finals series since 2001, were tipped to win, but were disappointing until 3/4 time. They stepped it up a notch, Buddy kicked 7 including the winning goal with 7 seconds left, and Shane Crawford had a standout game. They now play the loser of the Kangaroos next week. Hawks by 3 points - 15.15.105 to 15.12.102

Club Honour Board

"> 2007 || - || Alastair Clarkson || Richard Vandenberg || ||

Year	Finishing positionThe Hawthorn Honour Board Retrieved on 2007-06-20.	Coach	Captain	Best and Fairest	Leading Goalkicker
1925	12th	Alec Hall	Jim Jackson	-	Leslie Woodford (35)
1926	11th	Dan Minogue	Dan Minogue	-	Bert Hyde (27)
1927	12th	Dan Minogue	Pat Burke	-	Bert Hyde (41)
1928	12th	Bert Sutton	Bert Sutton	-	Bert Hyde (62)
1929	10th	Bert Chadwich	Bert Chadwich	-	Bert Hyde (47)
1930	10th	John Harris	John Harris	-	Bert Hyde (52)
1931	11th	John Harris	John Harris	-	Jack Ryan (39)
1932	12th	Jim Jackson	Bert Mills	Stan Spinks	Jack Ryan (37)
1933	11th	Bill Twomey	Bill Twomey	Bert Mills	Ted Pool (27)
1934	11th	Bill Twomey	Bert Mills	Ernie Loveless	Jack Green (80)
1935	10th	Ivan McAlpine	Ivan McAlpine	Bert Mills	Jack Green (63)
1936	9th	Ivan McAlpine	Ivan McAlpine	Leo Murphy	Norm Hillard (26)
1937	8th	Ivan McAlpine	Ivan McAlpine	Leo Murphy	Norm Hillard (31)
1938	11th	Ivan McAlpine	Bert Mills	Stan Spinks	Alby Naismith (30)
1939	10th	Len Thomas	Len Tomas	Bert Mills	Alec Albiston (37)
1940	9th	Bert Mills	Bert Mills	Andy Angwin	Alby Naismith (25)
1941	12th	Bert Mills	Bert Mills	Alec Albiston	Alec Albiston (57)
1942	11th	Roy Cazaly	Jack Carmody	Jack Barker	Alec Albiston (32)
1943	5th	Roy Cazaly	Bob Williams	Jim Bohan	Wally Culpitt (43)
1944	11th	Tommy Lahiff	Jim Bohan	Jim Blackman	Wally Culpitt (57)
1945	10th	Keith Shea	Keith Shea	Jim Bohan	Alec Albiston (66)
1946	12th	Keith Shea	Jim Bohan	Alec Albiston	Albert Prior (52)
1947	11th	Alec Albiston	Alec Albiston	Wally Culpitt	Albert Prior (67)
1948	11th	Alec Albiston	Alec Albiston	Kevin Curran	Albert Prior (47)
1949	12th	Alec Albiston	Alec Albiston	Col Austen	Albert Prior (48)
1950	12th	Bob McCaskill	Peter O’Donohue, Kevin Curran	John Kennedy	Gordon Anderson (21)
1951	11th	Bob McCaskill	Peter O’Donohue, Kevin Curran	John Kennedy	Pat Cash (26)
1952	11th	Jack Hale, Bob McCaskill	Peter O’Donohue	John Kennedy	John McDonald (25)
1953	12th	Jack Hale	Ted Fletcher	Ted Fletcher	Kevin Coghlan (19)
1954	9th	Jack Hale	Ted Fletcher	John Kennedy	Kevin Coghlan (27)
1955	8th	Jack Hale	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	Kevin Coghlan (28)
1956	7th	Jack Hale	John Kennedy	Roy Simmonds	John Peck (31)
1957	3rd	Jack Hale	John Kennedy	Alf Hughes	Terry Ingersoll (33)
1958	6th	Jack Hale	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	John Peck (27)
1959	7th	Jack Hale	John Kennedy	Allan Woodley	Gary Young (35)
1960	5th	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	Bredan Edwards	Gary Young (36)
1961	'Premiers'	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	Ian Law	John Peck (49)
1962	9th	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	Graham Arthur	John Peck (38)
1963	2nd	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	Ian Law	John Peck (75 ★ )
1964	5th	Graham Arthur	Graham Arthur	Ian Law	John Peck (68 ★ )
1965	12th	Graham Arthur	Graham Arthur, John Peck	David Parkin	John Peck (56 ★ )
1966	9th	Peter O’Donohue	Graham Arthur	Ray Wilson	John Peck (32)
1967	10th	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	Bob Keddie	Peter Hudson (57)
1968	6th	John Kennedy	Graham Arthur	Peter Hudson	Peter Hudson (125 ★ )
1969	5th	John Kennedy	David Parkin	Bob Keddie	Peter Hudson (120)
1970	8th	John Kennedy	David Parkin	Peter Hudson	Peter Hudson (146 ★ )
1971	'Premiers'	John Kennedy	David Parkin	Leigh Matthews	Peter Hudson (150)
1972	6th	John Kennedy	David Parkin	Leigh Matthews	Peter Knights (46)
1973	7th	John Kennedy	David Parkin	Don Scott	Leigh Matthews (51)
1974	3rd	John Kennedy	Peter Crimmins	Leigh Matthews	Michael Moncrieff (67)
1975	2nd	John Kennedy	Peter Crimmins	Peter Knights	Leigh Matthews (68 ★ )
1976	'Premiers'	John Kennedy	Don Scott	Leigh Matthews	Michael Moncrieff (97)
1977	3rd	David Parkin	Don Scott	Leigh Matthews	Peter Hudson (110 ★ )
1978	'Premiers'	David Parkin	Don Soctt	Leigh Matthews	Michael Moncrieff (90)
1979	7th	David Parkin	Don Scott	Kelvin Moore	Michael Moncrieff (45)
1980	8th	David Parkin	Don Scott	Leigh Matthews	Michael Moncrieff (86)
1981	6th	Allan Jeans	Leigh Matthews	Terry Wallace	Leigh Matthews (48)
1982	3rd	Allan Jeans	Leigh Matthews	Leigh Matthews	Leigh Matthews (74)
1983	'Premiers'	Allan Jeans	Leigh Matthews	Terry Wallace	Leigh Matthews (43)
1984	2nd	Allan Jeans	Leigh Matthews	Russell Green	Leigh Matthews (77)
1985	2nd	Allan Jeans	Leigh Matthews	Dermott Brereton	Dermott Brereton (58)
1986	'Premiers'	Allan Jeans	Michael Tuck	Gary Ayres	Jason Dunstall (77)
1987	2nd	Allan Jeans	Michael Tuck	John Platten	Jason Dunstall (94)
1988	'Premiers'	Alan Joyce	Michael Tuck	Jason Dunstall	Jason Dunstall (132 ★ )
1989	'Premiers'	Allan Jeans	Michael Tuck	Jason Dunstall	Jason Dunstall (138 ★ )
1990	5th	Allan Jeans	Michael Tuck	Andrew Collins	Jason Dunstall (83)
1991	'Premiers'	Alan Joyce	Michael Tuck	Ben Allan	Jason Dunstall (82)
1992	6th	Alan Joyce	Gary Ayres	Jason Dunstall	Jason Dunstall (145 ★ )
1993	6th	Alan Joyce	Gary Ayres	Jason Dunstall	Jason Dunstall (123)
1994	7th	Peter Knights	Chris Langford	John Platten	Jason Dunstall (101)
1995	15th	Peter Knights	Jason Dunstall	Darren Jarman	Jason Dunstall (66)
1996	8th	Ken Judge	Jason Dunstall	Paul Salmon	Jason Dunstall (102)
1997	15th	Ken Judge	Jason Dunstall	Paul Salmon	Nick Holland (29)
1998	13th	Ken Judge	Jason Dunstall	Shane Crawford	Jason Dunstall (54)
1999	9th	Ken Judge	Shane Crawford	Shane Crawford	Aaron Lord (42)
2000	6th	Peter Schwab	Shane Crawford	Nick Holland, Daniel Chick	Nick Holland (51)
2001	4th	Peter Schwab	Shane Crawford	Joel Smith	John Barker (41)
2002	10th	Peter Schwab	Shane Crawford	Shane Crawford	Daniel Chick (31)
2003	9th	Peter Schwab	Shane Crawford	Shane Crawford	Nathan Thompson (38)
2004	15th	Peter Schwab	Shane Crawford	Peter Everitt	Nathan Thompson (36)
2005	14th	Alastair Clarkson	Richard Vandenberg	Luke Hodge	Mark Williams (63)
2006	11th	Alastair Clarkson	Richard Vandenberg	Sam Mitchell	Mark Williams(60)

(
★ ) Competition Leading Goal-Kicker

Current Issues & Merger debate

Main articles: Melbourne Hawks

Falling on-field and off-field fortune saw the club almost merge with