Kennett attempted to smooth the waters with one of his semi-regular letters to members but did not back away from his strong suggestion that 2022 would be Clarkson's last season. There is no doubt the above mentioned tension has often proved a feature of his relationship with the premiership coach,whose first flag came under Kennett's first presidency.

The first review of Clarkson came in 2007 and it was both public and external when the president commandeered Gerard Healy and David Parkin among others to advise whether Clarkson deserved a new deal. Then during 2010 - when players and staff still insist a match-saving tackle on Richmond's Shane Tuck by Sam Mitchell saved the coach's job by ending a losing streak - Kennett suggested Clarkson have a stint coaching the reserves.

A period of remarkable success,prosperity and relative stability under Andrew Newbold,Stuart Fox and Chris Fagan ended when all three departed and the ensuing missteps led to administrative chaos. Kennett was commandeered to return,initially for a short stint. Now the former Victorian premier seems inclined to remain for another term in the absence of any other viable alternative,which means he will ultimately make the call on Clarkson's future.

Kennett famously called 3AW post his first presidency at the start of 2013 after a narrow loss to Geelong and suggested Clarkson should go. The significance of the president remaining should not be underestimated in its implications for Clarkson,who in turn would clearly walk into another coaching role at the next club that is looking,even if"godfather offers"might be tempered in the next post-COVID few years.

Kennett said one key motivation for reverting his previous position and staying was to keep the AFL honest. His time on the AFL's coronavirus cabinet and the AFL's strategy to remodel the competition has strengthened that resolve. But just how he will handle Clarkson could provide a key turning point in Hawthorn's history.

And if the presidential succession plan went awry - for some reason the board member once considered most likely to replace Kennett at the end of 2020 has fallen from contention - the unofficial coaching course involving Sam Mitchell remains in place. Lewis reopened that conversation when he questioned Clarkson's ability to lead the rebuild the coach has avoided and continues to question most recently pointing to the compromised nature of the AFL draft.

Club chief executive Justin Reeves is a strong Clarkson supporter who is travelling with the team but should Kennett stay,as expected,his voice will be the strongest regarding the coach. In the short term Reeves and Graham Wright with the board must navigate the vexed issue of the coach's contract. The savage football cuts across the competition have challenged every club and could force a sensitive negotiation,with Clarkson the game's highest-paid coach with two years left on his deal.

Kennett last Saturday suggested the AFL should look at"grandfathering"such deals. In other words the Hawks want to place a large chunk of Clarkson's deal outside the football department soft cap. This is a notion the AFL has to date rejected,saying clubs should continue to reward the best coaches in the game at the expense of - according to head office - their overpaid assistants.

If it seems strange that Hawthorn sit at the crossroads given the hallowed status and contractual stability of their coach and their relatively strong financial position,the clear reason is Hawthorn's recent dismal form and inability in recent years to challenge for another flag. This despite the Clarkson-led ruthless list strategy involving his premiership heroes who were traded out or retired against their will for high-profile recruits.

Turbulent coaching genius that he is,this is by no means the first time internal tension has threatened to spill over at Hawthorn during the 17-year Clarkson era. But strong football clubs find their way through these times and Hawthorn always have. History would suggest it will again and what has unfolded during 2020 will become fodder for the next successful chapter.

Like the coffin drawing that Kennett insisted was an inverted pyramid. True,say those who were in the room that day,it was a pyramid. But all agree it looked like a coffin.