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Nobody barracks for the AFL. Not you. Not me. Nobody.
Fans support clubs, the sport, and its assortment of superstars, making the league itself the easiest whipping boy in the playground.
When the game is ugly, blame the AFL. When the umpires err, blame the AFL. When the clubs complain, it’s the AFL’s fault.
Often these grievances are hyperbolic and petulant. Footy is in a great place. I can’t remember the last time we saw such an even season.
But occasionally, the AFL gets it wrong. Yes, like any other multi-million-dollar entity, they make mistakes – even if in my experience, they are a far more cohesive and effective body than Cricket Australia, though that’s not saying much.
For an organisation that prides itself on getting stuff done, the last 12 months have been extraordinarily laborious for the AFL. Everything has moved in slow motion, like a ruckman loping along the wing, only to be run down by a speedy opponent. We can all see what’s happening, except for the ruckman, who is gloriously oblivious.
In this case, the AFL is the ruckman. And it’s painfully slow to watch it all unfold.
It must be said, Gillon McLachlan has been an excellent CEO. He pushed the code through COVID-19 and, like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, came out clean on the other side. He’s signed multi-billion dollar pay deals with broadcasters, and the AFLW is a key component of his legacy.
But why is he still there? It’s the longest goodbye in the history of goodbyes. His dawdling transition out of the main chair has meant everything else is on hold.
A handover window of a month or two would have sufficed, but as things stand, he will not finish until the week after the Grand Final, 11 months after his initial announcement. Eleven!
Gillon McLachlan. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Not even tense negotiations around the Hawthorn racism scandal should have led to McLachlan’s lingering involvement for almost a year.
Naturally, his continued presence as a sort of lame duck CEO has meant very little else can get done at AFL HQ.
According to officials from around the country, the most pressing issue for the league is a lack of senior, quality, knowledgeable, football staff.
Speak to clubs as I have, and they will tell you the chasm at the top of the AFL is monumental.
I write this through a lens of knowing clubs love to complain, so I don’t say this lightly: their frustrations are not just palpable, but entirely fair.
Current Essendon coach Brad Scott left last September, and the game still lacks a full-time football boss. Not only that, but by Scott’s own admission, interim GM of football Laura Kane has been overworked to the bone.
Eventually, the structure will see Dillon as the CEO and a 2IC just below him. Then, as the third banana, there will be a footy boss, probably with help from other staff.
Dillon wanted Richmond chief Brendon Gale, but he has rejected the AFL’s advances. I understand his reasons largely relate to what was offered, not necessarily financially, but in regard to the entire package.
For Dillon to court Gale so strongly and fail is a significant early setback for the CEO-elect. It must also be noted Gale went for the position Dillon ended up winning. He’s hardly going to leave Richmond for a job which fails to offer the scope of responsibility he initially sought and failed to achieve.
So, with Gale out of the equation – and presumably with one eye on the Tasmania team CEO job in the next 12-24 months – the AFL is back to square one. Who are the other contenders?
Firstly, Dillon wants an AFL club CEO to fill the position. It’s more senior than Scott or Steve Hocking before him, so a current GM of footy at a club won’t suffice.
He needs whoever fills the job to essentially be the AFL’s chief operating officer, adept at negotiating broadcast deals, understanding fixture complexities, speaking to the media, and working closely with clubs, governments, and other key stakeholders.
The position is more powerful and wide-ranging than any 2IC in the history of the AFL. The portfolio is large, and there are only three current CEOs who fit the mould.
One is Fremantle boss Simon Garlick, who is a close friend of Dillon. Garlick has repeatedly stated his intention to remain at the Dockers. A change of heart would be a serious backflip.
Another is Sydney chief Tom Harley, who is highly regarded but settled in Sydney. He was also in the mix for the AFL CEO job before Dillon got it. Harley has told the Swans he is not going anywhere. Presumably, he’d need something irresistible to change his mind.
Andrew Dillon. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
And then there is Ameet Bains, who has been in charge at the Western Bulldogs for almost six years. Bains is a lawyer by trade and well respected by Dillon and other senior staff at the AFL. With all of their eggs in the Gale basket, the league is yet to speak to him formally.
Garlick, Harley and Bains are all comfortable in their roles. They don’t need the AFL as much as the AFL needs them.
History tells us whoever Dillon appoints will end up succeeding him as league CEO. It’s what has happened the last two times the baton was handed over.
While it’s too early to lock in a successor, Dillon would surely be aware of the magnitude of his decision. He needs a polished media performer and someone he can work closely with daily, but also trust to be autonomous in the AFL’s varying pursuits.
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The footy boss job, which has been vacant for 11 months, is slated to be more operational. The Match Review Officer, club issues, umpires, and Laws of the Game are all likely to fall under the remit of whoever wins the role.
Kane is rated by those who have worked with her, but there are doubts over her experience as a salesperson for key decisions. Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies has been spoken to but will stay in South Australia for at least one more year, while McLachlan played an active role in getting Josh Mahoney to Essendon as the Dons’ GM of footy.
Whichever way this all goes, it has gone on far too long. The AFL endeavouring to employ two senior football staffers, while losing Travis Auld to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation last month, is a tacit admission they have been understaffed by two people all year – and three people since Auld’s departure.
In addition, there are three vacant commission spots which are yet to be filled.
How can an organisation as powerful as the AFL not make its own wheels move quicker than a rusty semi-trailer? It’s mind-boggling.
Yes, these issues will eventually be solved. The game will continue to prosper. The world will not end.
But to have such gaping holes exist for so many months is a failure of governance and a disservice to the many hard workers who are currently at the AFL.
It’s easy to criticise the AFL. But on this occasion, they thoroughly deserve it.
Hurry up.
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