from a relatively weak on-field performance. Melbourne was in a relatively strong financial position. In contrast, Hawthorn was suffering from mounting debts and financial losses. It had struggled to obtain and maintain corporate sponsorship, at one point in 1992 not having a corporate sponsor in spite of having won the previous Grand Final. Hawthorn had a centralised training facility, administration centre, and social club (on land owned by the social club) at its Glenferrie Oval complex. The team's training facilities had recently been upgraded and were amongst the best in the league. In contrast, Melbourne did not have a central base: it trained at the Junction Oval in St Kilda, had its administration facilities in Jolimont, and had a social club in Sandringham. Both clubs were perceived to have had a traditionally middle-class supporter base; Melbourne had a historical connection to the Melbourne Cricket Club, while Hawthorn was based in the middle class, inner-eastern suburb of Hawthorn. Both clubs, in contrast to the stronger Melbourne-based clubs (like Collingwood, Carlton, or Essendon), and the stronger interstate teams (like Adelaide, or West Coast), had a relatively small membership base. It is perhaps from a combination of these reasons that negotiations would proceed further between Melbourne and Hawthorn than between other potential merger partners. Negotiations The negotiations advanced considerably and settled on a number of key aspects of the proposed team. Speculation about ongoing merger negotiations often appeared in the mainstream media prior to the official announcement, with several key details leaking to the press. Key points related to the club's identity which were agreed upon during negotiations prior to the official announcement included that: The new team's name would be "Melbourne" and would use Hawthorn's "Hawks" nickname The new team's guernsey would resemble Melbourne's, except feature a gold 'V' and a gold Hawk The amalgamated team would use Melbourne's red and blue with Hawthorn's gold Hawthorn's Hawk would be the new team's logo New club best and fairest award to be known as the Crimmins–Truscott Trophy New club song combined Melbourne's theme song and Hawthorn theme song, lyrics were: We're the Melbourne Hawks, We're the high-flying hawks! We're the mighty Melbourne Hawks! We play each game, and we play to win! Watch out! We play it with a grin! Every heart beats true for the gold, red and blue, As we sing this song for you: One for all and all for