Hawthorn board candidate James Merlino wants the Hawks to conduct a deep dive into their culture after a series of red flags in 2022 signalled to him there was a disconnect between the administration and the club’s players and members.
Until recently Merlino was Victoria’s former deputy premier, education minister and minister for mental health.
Now he has decided to run for a seat on the Hawthorn board at December’s annual general meeting amid growing concerns he has about its direction.
He said he first wondered what was happening at the club he supported when four-time premiership player Cyril Rioli revealed in April that he did not want to return to the club.
“We are not the family club if you’ve got past players and their families who want nothing to do with the Hawthorn Football Club,” Merlino said.
Merlino said: “My view is that is exactly not what the club needs. We need strong leadership [that is] in for the long haul. We are not going to be successful in either our men’s and women’s program until we get the off-field right.”
Sam Mitchell has a bold plan for the teamCredit:AFL Photos
Merlino decided to run as an independent and to back former Hawk Andrew Gowers in his bid against Nankivell to become president however he wants to be clear he supports the on-field direction Sam Mitchell and Bec Goddard are leading as coaches of the AFL and AFLW programs.
He also believes strongly that the Kennedy Community Centre being planned for Dingley will set the club up for the next 50 to 100 years and wants to see a standalone Tasmanian team enter the competition but hopes the Hawks can continue in the Apple Isle until that happens and is cognisant of the need to find new revenue streams.
He also says he can assist with expertise in strategy and governance while he will “engage with the government of the day and advocate for the Dingley project”.
But he says those charged with driving those initiatives need the right direction to be successful.
“There are great people in the club,” Merlino said.
“We’re not attacking the club. We want to actually make a positive difference. Under the current leadership of the club at the board level we have allowed some of these cultural issues to fester and I am concerned about that.”
His determination to represent members on the board was only strengthened when both he and Gowers had to scramble to get their nominations in before the deadline because of the lack of communication on the issue.
“[That] points to an off field administration who is fearful of its members,” Merlino said.
He is one of five candidates chasing three board vacancies, with Box Hill president Ed Sill and three board-backed candidates, existing board members Katie Hudson and Anne-Marie Pellizer and the nominee to replace Nankivell if he succeeds as president, Maria Lui, all putting their hands up.
Merlino is not part of the Hawks for Change group, but he is backing Gowers, pointing to his experience as a Hawthorn premiership player in 1991 and football director from 2013 to 2017, as well as five seasons at the Lions in the late ’90s when they were building towards their three-peat as strong credentials. That, combined with off-field success, makes Gowers, in Merlino’s view, the right candidate to succeed Jeff Kennett.
He says the fraying culture made it impossible for the club to meet the strategic objectives they set five years ago and believes fresh voices are needed at board level to restore pride in the club that he argues has lost the respect of the football community.
“We are not going to be successful in either our men’s and women’s program until we get the off field right,” Merlino said.
