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Hawthorn President wants to rename Victorian suburb after star forward

Published by
Mitchell Gastin

Hawthorn Football Club and its president Jeff Kennett have a whole lot of love for star forward Cyril Rioli - so much so that they are beginning the process to rename the suburb name of Dingley Village to 'Rioli', according to foxfooty.com.au.

Dingley Village is a suburb located 22km south-east of Melbourne's CBD, with a population of 10,320 people.

The Hawthorn takeover has been in full force for some time now, having already purchased land within the 'Dingley' area to build a brand new training centre that the club intends to call 'The Kennedy Centre'.

The ambitious Kennett appeared on Triple M before Hawthorn and Geelong's blockbuster clash on Easter Monday and revealed interesting details about the project.

"I have done a number of surveys out there and it has overwhelming support,” Kennett told Triple M.

“Most of the property residents think it should lift their property values by 10-15 per cent. We are on a winner.

“We are going to have the Kennedy Community Centre in Rioli,” he explained.

The interesting idea hasn't come without some push back from other representatives, with Labor MP for Keysborough Martin Pakula chiming in.

Pakula said he isn't confident that the idea will gain any traction.

“I reckon we might just stick with Dingley Village," Pakula told foxfooty.com.au.

It is possible for anyone to propose a name change or new name to a town or suburb to the Victorian Government, so there is potential that the idea is met with serious consideration by the people in power.

Published by
Mitchell Gastin