Ex-Hawthorn star Jack Gunston has been saddened by the racism saga that has engulfed the Hawks and the AFL.
The AFL is launching an investigation into Hawthorn’s handling of its racism review after the process significantly affected key figures on all sides. The league was contacted last week with the investigation to be led by AFL legal counsel Stephen Meade. The AFL is considering whether it is Hawthorn that should be punished for the situation – questioning their execution of the cultural safety review. Many key figures including former president Jeff Kennett and former chief executive Justin Reeves will be interviewed.
Having last week ended an eight-month independent investigation into the historical allegations of racism at the Hawks, the AFL has launched a new probe.
The decision came after ex-Hawthorn Indigenous players Cyril Rioli, Jermaine Miller Lewis, and Carl Peterson revealed they would take the allegations further, saying in a joint statement that they were “gutted” that “so-called AFL role models” were not prepared to “listen to our truths through mediation”.
Those “role models” include Gunston’s former multiple premiership-winning coach at Hawthorn, Alastair Clarkson, and his current Lions mentor, Chris Fagan.
“It’s obviously really disappointing that the way it’s played out and you feel for a lot of the parties involved – it’s sad,” Gunston said on Tuesday.
“It’s sad that people leave football clubs and have that feeling. It’s obviously a long drawn-out process and I just feel for everyone involved.
“As a group, it’s hard that we had so many good times (at Hawthorn) and so many great memories, and that there’s some stuff that is unfortunately apparently happened.
“(From) my time there, I can only talk fondly of my experiences.”
Jack Gunston has made a successful move from Hawthorn to Brisbane. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Gunston, 31, won three flags in 11 seasons at Hawthorn before moving to Brisbane at the end of last year’s campaign.
He admitted it would be a “weird” feeling taking on the Hawks on Saturday at the MCG.
“It’s somewhere where I have some great memories from … and I’ve still got a lot of great friends there,” he said.
“For two hours out there, they’re just the opposition and hopefully we can get the job done. We’re competitive people and we want to beat each other.
“We’ve been a bit up and down on the road this year. It’s a game we get to play at the MCG, so we’re all looking forward to it.”
The Lions, who have won eight from 11, are resuming after a weekend off, with Gunston saying the post-bye “phase” was the “hardest” period of the season.
“You need to keep talking about the wins and building towards what’s going to work later in the year,” he said.
“You might tweak a few things, you might find a few things out, watch some other teams … there’s a lot of strategy that goes into the back half of the year.”
The Lions are set to be boosted by the return of key defender Jack Payne, who missed the Lions’ last-start loss to Adelaide because of concussion.
However, Brisbane will be without suspended veteran Dayne Zorko, with Deven Robertson, Kai Lohmann and Nakia Cockatoo among those in contention to replace the ex-Lions captain.