SOME time shortly after 7pm on Wednesday, the Jeff Kennett era will end at Hawthorn. It will likely be greeted with mixed feelings by many at Hawthorn and some at the AFL.

But given that Kennett's reign as president of Hawthorn has been, by any measurement, a resounding success, there will be a touch of anxiety among the brown and gold nation about what will come next under the more measured guidance of new president Andrew Newbold.

The new bloke takes over a football club in fine fettle. Hawthorn is asset-rich, rolling in cash, superbly managed and in contention for a premiership. By any measurement - membership, finances, on-field strength and innovation - the Hawks are one of the power clubs of the League.

Kennett can't take the credit for all of the above. Hawthorn supporters have taken membership of their club seriously pretty much from the time of the aborted merger with Melbourne in 1996. It was the first order of business for Ian Dicker during his time as president, which started almost immediately after the merger proposal was shot down in flames.

It was the boost in membership from 12,000 in 1996 to 27,000 in 1997, the first year that Dicker was in charge, that underpinned Hawthorn's finances and the bank balance has grown healthier ever since.

The Hawks also ditched Glenferrie Oval for Waverley Park in 2006, a few months into the Kennett era. Again, it was Dicker who had brokered an exceptional deal with property developer Mirvac to become the anchor tenant at the one time VFL Park, although it is understood that Kennett - then in his guise as an influential Hawthorn supporter - helped put it all together.

And it was Dicker who left the critically-important coaching appointment at the end of 2004 in the hands of his trusted football lieutenant Jason Dunstall, who in turn appointed the ambitious and innovative Alastair Clarkson, rather than former - and available - Hawthorn champions Terry Wallace, Rodney Eade and Gary Ayres.

Kennett's legacy at Hawthorn is Tasmania. Under Dicker, the Hawks played two games a year in Launceston. So did St Kilda. But under Kennett's rule two games became four, York Park (now Aurora Stadium) was significantly redeveloped, Tasmania became the club's major sponsor and the Hawks repaid that investment back several times over by investing time and money into a wide variety of Tasmanian interests, primarily health and wellbeing, fitness, sport and education.

Kennett's battles with the AFL have made for some interesting diversions. Famously, he referred to AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou as a "benevolent dictator" and has long spouted off his belief that the AFL administration (i.e head count) is bloated.

His motor mouth has been gold for footy writers looking for a back page lead on a quiet day. Despite his early pledge to leave the talking to his administration, Kennett has spent the past six years spouting off on the NAB Cup, the Etihad Stadium surface, gay trainers in suburban football, drugs in sport, the financial viability of some AFL clubs and the mental psyche of others.

His remark about Geelong's mental fragility against Hawthorn early in 2009 may be a reason why the Cats have gone 7-0 against the Hawks since. His latest comment, only a fortnight ago, that the Hawks would have beaten Geelong in this year's Grand Final was errant nonsense, although it could be argued that his tongue was planted in his cheek at the time. Not even the most one-eyed Hawthorn diehards would support this view given how impressive the Cats were in September.

Still, his public utterances weren't all bad. His weekly Monday morning letter to members on the Hawthorn website set new standards in accountability between club and supporters. Often the players and coaches were put on notice by Kennett, and Hawthorn supporters were left in no doubt each week as to the mood of the club and the expectations within it.

One of the early issues Newbold will face is whether he is able (or willing) to follow suit.

What also became obvious over the past six years is how Hawthorn grew on Kennett. Golf and soccer appeared to be his sports of choice in the aftermath of his time as Premier of Victoria. He was a keen Hawk fan beforehand, but by no means a fanatic, yet after the shattering preliminary final loss to Collingwood this year, he likened the feeling the following morning to his election defeat in 1999, one that left him "curled up in a fetal position".

Kennett will find plenty to fill the void once he vacates Hawthorn on Wednesday night. Hawthorn has been great for his media exposure, his chairmanship of beyondblue takes up as much time and energy as did the Hawks, and then there is his family, the garden and the golf course.

As for the Hawks, they will continue to motor along, well-resourced and well-placed for a period of sustained success. The Five 2 Fifty business plan Kennett oversaw in 2007 has a year to run and if the Hawks win next year's premiership, Hawthorn will have delivered as boldly promised - two flags and 50,000 members in a five-year period.

The thing about Hawthorn is the expectation that its leaders leave the club in better shape than they found it. Coaches such as John Kennedy and Allan Jeans and presidents including Sandy Ferguson, Phil Ryan, Ron Cook and Dicker lived up to their end of the bargain. So too did Kennett.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs