'Hard to fill the void' - Dunstall on choosing a coach
It's the key piece of advice that Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall has for the Demons and any AFL club looking for a new coach.
Dunstall was announced as a Sport Australia Hall Of Fame inductee on Thursday, a year after his elevation to legend status at the Australian Football Hall Of Fame.
It was also two days after Melbourne sacked Simon Goodwin.
A few hours after Dunstall spoke about his latest honour at an MCG media conference, Carlton ended rampant speculation about Michael Voss's future by confirming he will coach them next season.
As much as Dunstall is rightly feted for being a goalkicking machine at Hawthorn, he also had a massive influence at the club after he retired.
In particular, he was a football director when the Hawks appointed Alastair Clarkson as coach in 2004.
It was a highly controversial decision that proved a masterstroke, with Clarkson coaching the Hawks to four premierships.
"The No.1 priority is understanding your own footy club and its needs before you then work out who you're going to get to come in," Dunstall told AAP.
"If you don't understand exactly where you are and exactly what you need, it's very hard to fill the void."
TV presenter and avid Hawthorn fan Stephen Quartermain famously voiced his disapproval about Clarkson's appointment.
"Quarters ... he came around pretty quick though," Dunstall chuckled.
Four years after Clarkson joined Hawthorn, they upset Geelong in the 2008 grand final. In terms of his AFL career highlights, Dunstall said that is "way up there".
"I was as proud of the '08 flag as any that I played in," said the four-time Hawks premiership star.
"That was four years after we'd done what we did and we were rock-bottom.
"We got belted the first year - by some big, big margins.
"But to win it in '08, four years after everyone was critical of us - we were getting bagged left-right and centre, there wasn't a lot of confidence about Clarko being the guy we appointed - I enjoyed that as much as anything in football."
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