Five much-loved Hawthorn players have been awarded life membership during the Hawks’ 2017 Annual General Meeting. 

Brendan Whitecross has been recognised for providing 10 years of dedicated service to the club since his arrival in 2007.

Amid difficult circumstances, the highly respected clubman has missed all four premierships the Hawks have won during his time at the club, largely due to back-to-back ACL injuries sustained in 2012 and 2013. He fought his way back to become a pivotal senior figure on the club’s list, and was awarded a contract extension prior to the 2017 season.

The club also recognised premiership quartet Josh Gibson, Liam Shiels, Luke Breust, and Isaac Smith, after each notched up 150 club games during the 2017 season.

Gibson was the first to achieve the feat, running out in the brown and gold for the 150^th time in Round 2. The gutsy defender had already amassed 215 AFL games by this stage, having spent his first four seasons with the Kangaroos. He called time on his decorated career at the end of the 2017 season, retiring a dual Peter Crimmins Medallist and triple-premiership player.

Shiels’ milestone came next, as the Hawthorn co-vice-captain ‘raised the bat’ against Brisbane in Round 8. The 26-year-old tackling machine had gone from strength to strength since arriving at Hawthorn, long touted as a future leader of the club before finally being named vice-captain at the start of 2017.

Next was Breust in Round 10, when the prolific goal kicker became the fasted Hawk in history to reach 150 career games. Since making his debut in Round 8 2011, Breust has missed just three games, and won the same number of premierships.

Isaac Smith was the final Hawk to notch up his 150^th game in 2017, and the co-vice-captain celebrated the milestone in unique fashion – with a draw against GWS. Selected as a mature recruit at the ripe age of 20, Smith slotted seamlessly into the Hawks’ line up in 2011, before adding four grand final berths and three premierships from the ensuing four years. 

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Criteria for Life Membership 

The Constitution currently provides for Life Membership to be granted to Directors with 9 years’ or any player who has completed 10 years’ service with the Club or 150 senior games with the Club. The Directors may each year, at their discretion, elect not more than 2 Life Members, whom they consider entitled by reasons of special services rendered to the Club.

Read more about Hawthorn’s Life Membership here.