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How will Andrew Demetriou be remembered?

3rd March, 2014
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Expert
3rd March, 2014
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The resignation of Andrew Demetriou isn’t surprising as it had been flagged for some time, but a six-month swansong was slightly unexpected. I suppose it’s all about the succession plan.

Demetriou was very impressive in his press conference and became emotional, which isn’t something we usually associate with him – not that he isn’t human.

So, what will his legacy be? It certainly will be making the AFL more powerful than it was when he took over in 2003, which was pretty powerful even then.

He made sure the code and the competition became more relevant in the northern states with the inclusion of the Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants.

That had become somewhat of an obsession under his watch – to ensure the NRL had competition in their strongholds of New South Wales and Queensland.

He described getting AFL footy at the Adelaide Oval as one of his greatest achievements. They managed to get the cricket ground’s members on side and that venue has the potential to be one of the best in the game.

He has more people watching the game on the account of the billion-dollar broadcast agreement and he and his team have been very good at driving the media agenda to make sure the AFL stays in the news over the off-season.

Demetriou has played an integral role in trying to clean up violence in the game on the field, which has decreased dramatically over the past 20 or so years.

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In fact, most things he has touched have turned to gold.

He ensured that Essendon were severely penalised for poor governance, but that didn’t all quite go the way he would have liked.

There’s been criticism that maybe the penalties were not quite strong enough and that James Hird should not be paid for being suspended for 12 months.

He also has been unable to completely shake off accusations that he tipped off Essendon that ASADA was going to investigate supplement use among the players in 2011 and 2012, before the Bombers announced 13 months ago they were going to hold their own investigation.

Demetriou has denied he contacted David Evans before the story broke, and also said constantly that James Hird hasn’t been paid in the early days of his suspension.

Could this issue and the way it has been handled override all his positive achievements?

I am sure that issue will be brought up many times as part of his farewell tour, and I am also sure he will handle it professionally as he always has.

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Demetriou has also been a strong opponent to Tasmania having a standalone club in the AFL, much to the locals’ frustration, although at least two clubs during his time – Hawthorn and North Melbourne – play matches there each season.

Still, such a proud footy state should be able to house a team on its own. That looks like being a task for his replacement.

And who will that replacement be?

Demetriou would no doubt love his second in charge, Gillon McLachlan, to get the job. But has he been sullied somewhat by the Essendon scandal?

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland’s name has been bandied around, and he of course has experience in leading another high-profile sporting organisation.

The best club CEO, Brian Cook from Geelong, should also be in the mix. What he has done at the Cats to turn them around from a basket case to a powerful entity is nothing short of amazing.

There will be many others as well who will be speculated about, but whoever gets the job will have big shoes to fill.

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Demetriou’s biggest legacy of all is that he will depart the competition with it in an extremely healthy shape financially. As the old saying goes, money tends to speak all languages.

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