AFL premiers Hawthorn are a powerful club in transition, a point reinforced on Saturday night when coach Alastair Clarkson thanked outgoing football director Jason Dunstall.

While all the focus since the grand final win over Fremantle has been on Lance Franklin’s pending free agency deal with Sydney, several other key figures at the club either have left or are on the move.

Earlier this year their long-time football manager Mark Evans landed the plum job of AFL football operations manager, while last week assistant coach Adam Simpson beat a strong list of contenders to win the senior role at West Coast.

Much-respected ruckman Max Bailey has had to quit because of his constant injuries and fellow premiership players Brent Guerra and Michael Osborne have also retired.

Dunstall, who holds their goals record, has probably had an even bigger influence on Hawthorn off the field.

He has been a club director for the last nine years and held the crucial board role of football director.

It was already known that Dunstall would stand down at the end of this year and Clarkson made a point of acknowledging him at Saturday’s club best and fairest function.

Dunstall was pivotal in the appointment of Clarkson as Hawthorn coach in late 2004, a controversial move at the time that has since proved to be a masterstroke.

The Clarkson era has marked a return to power for the Hawks, who also won the 2008 flag.

“Tonight probably marks the full-stop to a guy who has had an enormous contribution at our footy club and that’s Jason Dunstall,” Clarkson said.

“He’s obviously been a very, very influential person around our club in terms of what he’s done on-field.

“But for those who have been fortunate enough to have been in his presence over the last nine years, there would so many particularly at board level and (in) administration and coaching who would acknowledge the contribution he’s made off the field.

“He helped shape so many of the decisions in that period … which were so crucial to use being able to get ourselves back to being premiership threats.”

While there is a clear changing of the guard at Waverley, the Hawks appear well-placed to remain premiership contenders.

They are a well-run, stable club and are financially healthy.

It was noticeable at the best-and-fairest function that there was a lot of goodwill towards Franklin, who did not attend.

He was the first person that Clarkson mentioned in his speech and the club played a tribute video of Franklin’s freakish on-field achievements.

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stomach the big fella wearing red and white next year,” Clarkson joked.