Five-time premiership Hawk Gary Ayres has spoken on why he nominated former teammate Andy Gowers to stand for the Hawthorn board.
Gowers, a part of the 1991 premiership team alongside Ayres, has a history in finance and business post his playing career.
He has previously stood on the club's board between 2013-2017 as football director and reached out to Ayres for a nomination to join again.
“When you look at Hawthorn’s record it’s been quite unbelievable over a long period of time, and just of late things haven’t been going the way everyone would have liked,” Ayres told SEN Breakfast.
“I got a phone call from Andy and he wanted to know if I’d nominate him for a possible position back on the board … I said well if I can help, I can help, that’s where it started from.”
Despite not making the decision lightly, Ayres said the formal nomination of Gowers was made to benefit the club and he was happy to help his old mate.
“At heart, we’ve always thought about how can we help the Hawthorn football club, for what they’ve done for me over a long period of time,” he said.
“I did think about it long and hard.
“When it came down to it, if I can help someone, I’ve always had the adage that if I can, if I can make a difference somehow then so be it.
“Obviously, there’s a little bit to play out, but if it is about a little bit of change, and we want that change to better, then it can only be good for the football club.”
Hawthorn struggled in 2021 on field and the club's board under president Jeff Kennett has faced criticism.
The call to move on master coach Alastair Clarkson at the end of the season received backlash and just last week Kennett sent a cryptic email about trading out players.
Despite the bad press on Kennett in recent times, Ayres says his former teammate isn’t looking to take the president's position on the board.
“Clearly (Gowers has) had experience in that area (on the board) before … hopefully, it’ll play out the way it does and common sense will prevail and the best people will be in the positions to make a difference at our footy club,” he said.
“I don’t know about that (him wanting to become president), from my understanding and discussions with Andy it’s more about a position on the board.”
Gowers could become the second ex-player on the board if elected, joining former captain Richie Vandenberg, the club’s current football director.