DES MEAGHER, a Hawthorn premiership player in 1971 and later a longtime assistant coach, died on Wednesday after a sudden illness.

He was 67.

Originally a champion water polo player, the tall, rangy left-foot wingman joined the Hawks from Old Xaverians in 1966 and went on to play 198 games for the club until his retirement and the end of 1976.

He played on the wing in the 1971 side that beat St Kilda by seven points to win Hawthorn’s second premiership and was on the bench in the 1975, when the Hawks were beaten by North Melbourne in the Grand Final.

He played in the second semi-final the following season, but was left out of the side that beat North a fortnight later in the Grand Final.

Legendary coach John Kennedy said it was sad for the club to lose "a great Hawthorn man."

"We’re all totally shocked about it," Kennedy said. "He set a great example around the club with his approach to fitness. He was a fine running wingman, equally at home at Glenferrie Oval and the bigger grounds."

Former teammate Peter Knights said Meagher’s athleticism was one his great features. "He would have been a great player in today’s football because he was tall and he could run."

"He also had one of the quickest hand-to-foot releases of any player I can ever remember. He could get boot to ball really quickly."

After coaching in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs after his retirement, Meagher returned to Hawthorn in 1980, where he spent 14 years coaching the reserves and serving as an assistant to senior coaches David Parkin, Allan Jeans and Alan Joyce.

In that respect, Meagher played a huge role in Hawthorn’s dominance of the 1980s.

So many of the club’s great players at the time, including Dermott Brereton, Gary Ayres, Chris Langford, Peter Schwab, Jason Dunstall, Greg and Paul Dear, Andy Collins and Peter Curran, among many others, served the classic Hawthorn apprenticeship and played a season or more of reserves football under Meagher.

"He had a huge influence on Hawthorn’s success," Joyce said. "So many of the club’s good players spent time under him and he was a great support to me and the other senior coaches. There were never any issues with Des. His loyalty could never be questioned."

Still supremely fit. even as a coach, emerging players at Hawthorn reportedly used to say they were ready for senior football only when they could run faster than Meagher.

"He was a bit of a hard taskmaster," said Knights, whose last game as a player was the 1985 reserves Grand Final, in which the Hawks, coached by Meagher, beat Carlton. "Allan Jeans would have the seniors training at one end of Glenferrie Oval, while at the other end, Des would be training the boys really hard."

"But he was a really good foil for ‘Jeansy’ and they proved to be a great coaching combination."

Hawthorn Chief Executive Officer Stuart Fox extended his deepest sympathies to Des’ family and friends at this sad time.

"We were saddened to learn the club, and the game, has lost a true champion today," he said

Meagher represented Victoria three times and was a life member of Hawthorn.

As a mark of respect for Des Meagher, Hawthorn players and on-field officials will wear black armbands for Friday night’s game against Melbourne.