One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on June 30, 2022, 04:30:15 AM
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Shortlist of candidates emerges as search for new AFL CEO deepens
Sam McClure
The Age
June 30, 2022
The AFL’s headhunter has begun contacting senior industry figures, seeking their feedback on the leading candidates in the search for Gillon McLachlan’s successor as AFL CEO.
Sources with knowledge of the discussions said New York-based consultancy firm Spencer Stuart, which will charge the AFL close to half a million dollars in fees, has rung several club presidents, CEOs and former high-ranking league officials, asking who they believe would be capable of replacing McLachlan.
Former Collingwood president and media mogul Eddie McGuire has also received a phone call.
The man on the other end of the phone is Jeremy Fogarty, a New Zealand-educated, Melbourne-based consultant with Spencer Stuart.
Fogarty specialises in mining, agriculture and biotechnology and earned an arts degree with first-class honours in history from Canterbury University in Christchurch.
A shortlist of sorts has emerged off the back of the conversations, as the names are mentioned by most industry figures.
Senior AFL figures Travis Auld and Andrew Dillon remain hot favourites internally, while Richmond CEO Brendon Gale is the resounding choice according to the majority of clubs.
Gale’s Sydney counterpart, Geelong premiership captain Tom Harley, has been approached by Spencer Stuart.
Harley is seen as one of the emerging stars in the AFL’s CEO ranks and is highly respected within the industry.
The stocks of Patrick Delany, CEO of Foxtel, have risen inside AFL headquarters in recent weeks.
Delany has been rising up the ranks at Foxtel since starting as a digital director in 2002 and his intimate knowledge of broadcast arrangements has made him an attractive candidate.
For similar reasons Disney Australia boss and Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler is also seen as a legitimate candidate.
Watson-Wheeler is highly respected at Disney for her leadership skills and has expertise in streaming services. The AFL has recently been in discussions with various streaming platforms ahead of a new broadcast deal.
According to industry sources who have spoken with Spencer Stuart, the dark horse remains Melbourne Cricket Club boss Stuart Fox.
Fox, who was chief executive at Hawthorn when the club won its premiership three-peat under Alastair Clarkson, is seen as a cool head under pressure who is well versed in club-based issues, stadia and memberships.
The search for McLachlan’s successor comes at a hectic time for the AFL, which is also trying to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement for the players as well as its next broadcast agreement.
When announcing his plans to step down, McLachlan stated he would complete both sets of negotiations, and arrive at a decision for the future of a Tasmanian team before finishing his tenure.
Auld, who AFL sources said had been groomed for the CEO position in the past two seasons as McLachlan took a step back during COVID-19, has long been considered the leading internal candidate.
However, the usually media-shy Dillon, the league’s head legal counsel, has shot to equal-favouritism in recent months.
But new Carlton boss Brian Cook, who was heavily linked to the role in 2014 when Andrew Demetriou was departing, believed McLachlan’s replacement should come from the clubs.
“They are both very good, but if you asked me for my preference, I would say someone from one of the AFL clubs,” Cook told 3AW this week.
“I would probably endorse someone who has good football experience, good football business experience, so therefore someone probably from one of the AFL clubs.”
The interview process is yet to begin.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/shortlist-of-candidates-emerges-as-search-for-new-afl-ceo-deepens-20220629-p5axpl.html
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Get the job and fix this poo show mate
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Steve Hocking, Gillon McLachlan’s former right-hand man, has ruled himself out of going for the vacant CEO position later this year.
Hocking, who was the AFL’s head of football operations between 2017 and 2021, left the league midway through last season to return to Geelong as CEO.
He had a huge say on how the game now looks as formerly one of the most influential people inside AFL house.
Hocking has not been linked with the role but has the credentials to be in the mix. However, the Cats chief says he’s “not going anywhere”.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/07/01/former-afl-footy-operations-boss-rules-himself-out-of-going-for-league-ceo/
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Steve Hocking, Gillon McLachlan’s former right-hand man, has ruled himself out of going for the vacant CEO position later this year.
Hocking, who was the AFL’s head of football operations between 2017 and 2021, left the league midway through last season to return to Geelong as CEO.
He had a huge say on how the game now looks as formerly one of the most influential people inside AFL house.
Hocking has not been linked with the role but has the credentials to be in the mix. However, the Cats chief says he’s “not going anywhere”.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/07/01/former-afl-footy-operations-boss-rules-himself-out-of-going-for-league-ceo/
Thank goodness
The bloke has damaged (ruined) the game enough
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Why Gale should, but won’t, get AFL’s top job
The AFL is too TV focused, money hungry and consumed with rule changes to replace Gillon McLachlan with a man of the people like Richmond’s Brendon Gale.
Paywall: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/brendon-gale-cares-too-much-for-fans-and-not-enough-for-making-money-to-be-made-afl-ceo/news-story/255a597a8dec356df7f3a00f2b642ae3
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Shame there's a pay wall
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Steve Hocking, Gillon McLachlan’s former right-hand man, has ruled himself out of going for the vacant CEO position later this year.
Hocking, who was the AFL’s head of football operations between 2017 and 2021, left the league midway through last season to return to Geelong as CEO.
He had a huge say on how the game now looks as formerly one of the most influential people inside AFL house.
Hocking has not been linked with the role but has the credentials to be in the mix. However, the Cats chief says he’s “not going anywhere”.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/07/01/former-afl-footy-operations-boss-rules-himself-out-of-going-for-league-ceo/
Thank goodness
The bloke has damaged (ruined) the game enough
Is there any real evidence that Hocking really brought in the Stand rule to combat our superior defending on the mark? Or is this just a theory that has basis in reality?
Did Hocking actually say that he brought in the rule to stop Richmond? Is there any evidence of this?
If there is can anyone help find it for me.
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The story goes the Hocking was incensed when he saw Cotch dancing around on the mark which was the start of his push for a rule change
Even though it clearly was to disrupt our game plan I don’t think anyone has heard of him say publicly
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Sam McClure on 3aw today said Benny Gale won't get the AFL CEO gig. Gill and Goyder who will be making the decision see others ahead of Gale and don't want someone from clubland.
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Sam McClure on 3aw today said Benny Gale won't get the AFL CEO gig. Gill and Goyder who will be making the decision see others ahead of Gale and don't want someone from clubland.
Goyder is a stuffen halfwit (stuffs up everything he touches - AFL, Qantas, Woodside, Wesfarmers) and Gilligan is a corrupt boys club elitist prick. What more would you expect.
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I can't stand how Gill goes off with everyone lauding his impact and it is writ large that his regime was long and marvelous. Demetriou was a crook as well, but at least the game was still watchable. Gill has just ticked off some financial KPIs which only matter to the people with the money (not the everyday fan) and has paid lip service to diversity issues in the game. The game is in a mess even if the books aren't. It sucks. And there's no due process and accountability in anything. For example, why should the incumbent have any say in who his successor is? If that were how things worked then Mr Trump would still be Mr President.
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I want Benny to stay and oversee the redevelopment
But the AFL have got it wrong which is no surprise. But they need someone from Club land in the CEO role. They are so out of touch with the fans and how the fans feel about the game. How the rule changes are destroying the game. Some one from Club land would bring that perspective
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If Sam maclure info is legit , it’s the best Richmond news I’ve heard this year.. Benny is priceless to us
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Word on grapevine is there is concern with Benny being very pro Tassie and it's a space the AFL is still wary about jumping into.
Wrapped Benny will remain at Tigerland.
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Word on grapevine is there is concern with Benny being very pro Tassie and it's a space the AFL is still wary about jumping into.
Wrapped Benny will remain at Tigerland.
Another classic example of the AFL creating demand where it is not (Gold Coast, western Sydney) and ignoring demand where it is (Tasmania) because of money.
Business people are fine when they stick to business, but it's all the rage these days to try to run everything like a business. Politicians need to be reminded that nations are not businesses and need not be administrated as such; likewise our leisure and arts pursuits are not businesses and should not be run like businesses. AFL is not a business; it's not a vehicle for social change; it's not a product that needs to reach market saturation. It is a game for people to relax and enjoy in an uncomplicated way--those that already want to.
The CEOs playing big boy businessmen have completely lost perspective; they hide behind numbers like the amount of funding being put back into the grassroots of the game (as if they have any notion of grassroots football). You only need an administrative body elected by the participating clubs in the league to handle collective interests and deliver impartial adjudication on behalf of the participants that matter--the clubs--who are then held accountable at AGMs by their members and supporters.
One crook hand-selecting the next crook and handing him the baton is garbage and everyone knows it. There is more money flowing through the game than ever before--the coffers are full--but the game is less relatable than it has ever been. It is worse off for it. An AFL team in Tasmania is exactly what they should be prioritizing, but ...
Maybe next decade.
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Completely agree, however there is an element where the business needs to be sustainable and it can turn quick on different codes.
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Caroline Wilson gives an update on the race to be the next AFL CEO, with two candidates emerging as internal and external favourites, including Western Bulldogs President Kylie Watson-Wheeler.
https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1556617349415026689
Benny Gale was interviewed for the job as were three other AFL club CEOs but Caro doesn't know where that leaves him.
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Dimma on Benny Gale in his speech at the JDM last night:
"Whether you sit on the same side of the table as us or not next year, remember who's paid your salary the last 14 years!"
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I too found this interesting.
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I hope he fixes the game.
Get rid of the stand rule.
And dissent. The prior 50m for umpire abuse was fine.
Make the ARC actually useful.
Stuff off FA compo.
Disclose player wages and improve transparency around third party payments.
Keep working on reducing free kicks awarded to players who draw high contact deliberately.
Harsher penalties for staging.
Mandatory week off if medically subbed.
Lots of things I'd like changed.
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Get rid of sub rule. 5 on IC.
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From SEN:
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale was among the original frontrunners. But with his name seemingly not mentioned in recent speculation, Maher can’t understand why the former AFL Players’ Assocation CEO isn’t a clear front-runner.
“This is what I can’t understand. I maintain that Brendon Gale is absolutely cherry ripe, taylor-made ready,” Maher stated.
“The background is perfect. The experience is perfect. The timing is perfect. He is a strong presence, you need someone who can stand up and present, particularly off the back of Gillon McLachlan, that is one of his great strengths.
“It feels like there’s a reason for why some people, I suspect people on the commission don’t think Brendon Gale is right or has rubbed a few people the wrong way.”
Gale is reported to have drawn the ire of the AFL hierarchy for numerous Richmond indiscretions during the 2020 season up in Queensland where the Tigers ultimately won the premiership.
But Maher says that Gale defending his club is instead an admirable quality that should be utliised by the AFL.
“You hear some stories about the Tigers up in the bubble (in Queensland). If he’s advocating for his footy club and that upset a few people along the way because he was fighting hard for what Richmond wanted, that’s his job, he’s supposed to be doing that,” he continued.
“I would have thought (that’s an admirable quality).
“I presume he’s up for the job. If he wanted it, if they thought he was the right man, he'd have it now. It feels like they’re swirling all over the place trying to find somebody else when the right bloke, seemingly, is right there.
“It’s very, very odd.”
Gale has been Richmond CEO since 2009.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/10/28/its-very-very-odd-question-marks-over-afls-process-for-next-league-ceo/
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Good. Leave him to lead us for years to come.
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Benny Gale will be with us for another year at least even if he were to become the next AFL CEO as Gill is going on into 2023.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-boss-no-closer-to-final-day-as-whispers-of-another-season-at-helm-emerge/news-story/eb8ca5837bf1d6142f8fa83f4e15b58a
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Gilligan is refusing to go while Benny is the clubland preference. Weak prick that he is.
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Of course, his not going his got to sweep the Hawks mess under the carpet like he did with the crows.
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Messiah complex is alive and well at afl house
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AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan will remain in the top job until round five next season as the league continues its search for his replacement.
Presidents were informed that the AFL Commission would sign off on McLachlan’s successor early in the new year with AFL executives Auld, Andrew Dillon and Kylie Rogers as well as club CEOs Brendon Gale (Richmond), Dave Matthews (GWS) and Tom Harley (Sydney) among the candidates who have been interviewed for the top job.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-boss-gillon-mclachlan-sets-departure-date-20221123-p5c0p5.html
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My guess is one of Gilligans cronies will get the role, based on how Woke they are.
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My guess is that they’ll probably want a female in the role.
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Watson: “The whole Brendon Gale situation is really fascinating too because I keep hearing that there has been a strong push from club CEOs for him to be the successor, but apparently it isn’t the direction the AFL Commission wants to go in.”
Lyon: “Why?”
Watson: “I haven’t been able to get to the bottom of that. Maybe they don’t feel that he’s had the all-round commercial experience to deal with the broadcast rights and those huge issues the AFL is confronted with. In answer to that you’d say the deal has been put away for such a long time now that you don’t need to worry about that and the person in that role could learn what they need to learn in that next period of time.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/12/02/does-afl-ceo-call-delay-rule-leading-candidates-out-of-the-role/
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According to Tom Browne on 7news:
* Clubs have been made aware that Andrew Dillon will take over from Gil when the latter eventually steps down.
* Other candidates such as Benny Gale have been informed they can apply to be 2IC to Dillon. They can then go for the top job in the future from inside AFL HQ. The AFL is keen to appoint people from within HQ.
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1601122245438767104
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I think we all know that he was never a chance to begin with. The whole process was a stage show. Clearly the boys club AFL are showing their true colours.
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Do the clubs vote on who gets the CEO job or is it the faceless mates club making the appointment
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Do the clubs vote on who gets the CEO job or is it the faceless mates club making the appointment
The latter :thumbsdown.
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According to Tom Browne on 7news:
* Clubs have been made aware that Andrew Dillon will take over from Gil when the latter eventually steps down.
* Other candidates such as Benny Gale have been informed they can apply to be 2IC to Dillon. They can then go for the top job in the future from inside AFL HQ. The AFL is keen to appoint people from within HQ.
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1601122245438767104
stuffen corrupt pricks
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The AFL Commission met on Wednesday [last] week, where the final stages of the new CEO search were thrashed out. It had already been decided that interviews would be conducted with remaining candidates as soon as Thursday this week. Of the AFL headquarters applicants, Kylie Rogers, Travis Auld and Andrew Dillon will all be given chances to sell themselves for the main job. Externally, the CEOs at Richmond and GWS – Brendon Gale and Dave Matthews – are said to remain in the mix. In the eyes of many senior people across the AFL industry, Dillon is cited as favourite.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/874264/barrett-gill-s-goodbye-headlines-afl-s-huge-2023-agenda
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How does the AFL pick their own to continue their woke addenda and not concentrate on being administrators of Australian rules football, an abuse of power by a dictatorship
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How does the AFL pick their own to continue their woke addenda and not concentrate on being administrators of Australian rules football, an abuse of power by a dictatorship
Conrads appoint Conrads.
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There's a twist in Gillon McLachlan’s tenure as AFL CEO. Chief Football Reporter @TomBrowne7 has the details, where there’s an understanding McLachlan could extend his departure date again.
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1629755591257374721
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There's a twist in Gillon McLachlan’s tenure as AFL CEO. Chief Football Reporter @TomBrowne7 has the details, where there’s an understanding McLachlan could extend his departure date again.
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1629755591257374721
FMD just pee off Gilligan.
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There's a twist in Gillon McLachlan’s tenure as AFL CEO. Chief Football Reporter @TomBrowne7 has the details, where there’s an understanding McLachlan could extend his departure date again.
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1629755591257374721
FMD just pee off Gilligan.
This guy might just have a god complex
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AFL CEO search to move a step closer to completion
Peter Ryan
The Age
March 7, 2023
The long-running search for a new AFL chief executive will take another step forward when candidates are interviewed for the game’s top job next week, as clubs prepare for the first round of the season.
According to industry sources, internal AFL candidates Andrew Dillon, Travis Auld and Richmond CEO Brendon Gale remain in a process that has dragged on since the incumbent Gillon McLachlan announced in April last year he would leave the job he has held since 2014.
It is unclear whether a left-field candidate remains in the race alongside that trio, who have been considered candidates since April. Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley and Giants CEO Dave Matthews have also been interviewed. The AFL confirmed on Monday that further interviews would take place next week.
The league has continued to extend the tenure of McLachlan, who was originally slated to finish up at the end of 2022 before AFL chairman Richard Goyder confirmed the CEO would remain in the job until at least the end of April when Gather Round is held in Adelaide.
Goyder wrote a letter to clubs indicating an appointment would be made in the early stages of 2023 but that McLachlan needed to remain in the role while several big-ticket items remained on the agenda, including finalising a position on a 19th license for Tasmania, the player CBA and the AFL’s response to the Hawthorn racism allegations.
The AFL seems no closer to resolving these issues with the Tasmanian licence contingent on federal funding for a new stadium to be built in Hobart. Whether that funding is granted may have to wait until the May budget, while discussions on the CBA are ongoing.
The independent investigation into the Hawthorn racism allegations is taking time with former Hawthorn officials Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt yet to make their submissions to the investigation. Sources close to the investigation have been frustrated at the slow rate of progress given the stress it has created for everyone involved.
The AFL has remained tight-lipped about the candidates, but is certain to face questions about the process when club CEOs and presidents gather for their annual pre-season catch-up this week.
Several club leaders have expressed their surprise at the time taken to replace McLachlan, with Collingwood president Jeff Browne saying last year he felt it was inappropriate for McLachlan and the AFL Commission to make crucial decisions on the game’s future when his departure was imminent and the Commission had two seats vacant.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/afl-ceo-search-to-move-a-step-closer-to-completion-20230306-p5cpqo.html
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Tom Harley would be the front runner....Geelong boy and all :snidegrin
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According to Tom Browne:
Still six in the running for the AFL CEO gig.
They've started the third rounds of interviews and Benny Gale has got his today.
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1636628672705871873
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7news tonight showed Benny Gale going for his interview at 8am this morning.
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3rd round lol
How lame
How much do they know or not know about each other ffs
I've done two rounds for a job once but they already knew anyway, think they just wanted to back themselves up for when they let the other person down
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Not that I really care but
As a matter of interest who would the interview panel be??
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Some overpaid headhunters, Goyder and another sycophant member of the commission. Goyder will have the final say.
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Some overpaid headhunters, Goyder and another sycophant member of the commission. Goyder will have the final say.
Headhunters, overpaid underwhelming flogs appointed by people unable to make decisions other than themselves
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Some overpaid headhunters, Goyder and another sycophant member of the commission. Goyder will have the final say.
Headhunters, overpaid underwhelming flogs appointed by people unable to make decisions other than themselves
Or Gil is just lining the pockets of some mates before he goes
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6. BRENDON GALE
Richmond CEO
Last year: 8
It makes no sense to a lot of people in football that he has not already been installed as the new AFL CEO when clearly, he is best credentialled for the job, at least externally. Question will be how long he stays on at Punt Road if he misses the main job. Tasmania?
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/03/23/2023-afl-movers-and-shapers-10-1/
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Has anyone heard anything on this subject . Isn’t Gill supposed to step down by the “gather round”
As much as it would be amazing for Benny to get the gig I sure don’t want to lose him
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I reckon they don't want him but know that they can't rule him out without looking biased.
He would probably fix too much crap for the better.
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I reckon Benny gets it however 1 issue is in the way.
Tasmania. As a Tassie boy he's bias and I reckon that'd worry the AFL in that he'd make it his ultimate goal to get it up no matter what.
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The AFL is an insiders political mates club, no way are they going to let an outsider in like Gale
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According to Tom Browne, the presidents were originally told Gill would move aside next Wednesday, but there's a Gala event then and with Gather Round the AFL will likely turn that round into a Gill celebration. Gill also still has the latest CBA to deal with over the coming months.
https://omny.fm/shows/the-rub/tom-brownes-news-jack-crisp-video-update-will-we-f
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Good riddance, don't think he's done the game much good.
Hanging around like a bad smell.
Gee it'd be great if Gale came in and got rid of the stand + dissent rules etc.
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REPORTS: MCLACHLAN'S FINISH DATE PUSHED OUT AGAIN AS REPLACEMENT SEARCH GOES ON
The Age and the Herald Sun are reporting that AFL chairman Richard Goyder called club presidents on Tuesday to inform them that McLachlan would stay on for another few weeks. He also reportedly explained that the league was yet to finalise its search for McLachlan’s successor.
As for his replacement, the league has kept its search a closely guarded secret. Around half a dozen candidates were interviewed in March, with AFL House’s Andrew Dillon and Travis Auld considered among the frontrunners.
Read more here: https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/04/11/reports-mclachlans-finish-date-pushed-out-again-as-replacement-search-goes/
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Tom Browne on 7news just now claims Gill's replacement is down to two: the AFL's Andrew Dillon and Bulldogs' president Kylie Watson-Wheeler.
If true, that means Benny Gale is out.
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Benny was never really in. They included him to tick a box. It’s another example of the AFLs hatred of our club
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They'll pick the girl because she's a girl
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The AFL has been tight-lipped during the drawn-out process after recently interviewing internal candidates Andrew Dillon and Travis Auld as well as Richmond CEO Brendon Gale. Two senior football sources, who asked not to be named to discuss the confidential process, said none of those candidates had been told they were out of the race for the job.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/is-kylie-watson-wheeler-the-surprise-afl-ceo-contender-20230412-p5czz3.html
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Barrett on Footy Classified said Gill could hang around to at least May 9 (federal budget night) when the AFL finds out what money is available for the new Tassie stadium.
Lloyd reckons Benny Gale could tell the AFL to forget about it for stuffing him around this long.
https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1646127018281410560
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They'll pick the girl because she's a girl
>:(
Or maybe she'll get it because she is incredibly successful as a CEO and is the best person for the job.
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They'll pick the girl because she's a girl
>:(
Or maybe she'll get it because she is incredibly successful as a CEO and is the best person for the job.
This far up the food chain, with candidates like Benny, I don't think we could suggest that any of them aren't incredibly successful. Certainly not suggesting she isn't.
As for whether or not she's the best person for the job - I have no idea. Also not suggesting she isn't, again.
One thing I know for sure is that the AFL for years has been making it their business to promote ideologies and if we are down to two very suitable candidates I don't trust that the AFL wouldn't pick one over the other based on gender.
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GILLON MCLACHLAN CAN'T PUT TIMEFRAME ON AFL DEPARTURE
“People always want a date. The process (to appoint my successor), I think you see in the media, is clearly coming to a head… I committed to my chairman to do some things, the Tasmania thing is there and I think you can see a horizon on that one way or another.
“Footy’s going really well, I’m as committed as ever… that stuff will all work out. After that, I don’t know.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/04/13/gillon-mclachlan-cant-put-timeframe-on-afl-departure/
AFL CEO candidate Andrew Dillon remains uncertain when a decision will be made on Gillon McLachlan’s successor but has no concern with the drawn-out process that started a year ago when McLachlan announced he was leaving.
Dillon is among at least five candidates for the job, which also include fellow AFL executives Kylie Rogers and Travis Auld as well as Richmond CEO Brendon Gale. Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler is also among the contenders.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/candidate-for-top-afl-job-unfazed-by-drawn-out-process-20230413-p5d04q.html
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They'll pick the girl because she's a girl
>:(
Or maybe she'll get it because she is incredibly successful as a CEO and is the best person for the job.
Do you know something about Disney Australia we don't?
Disney has lost value in the tens of Billions in the last year so has the Australian arm bucked the trend?
Benny has spent the last 30 years in the AFL industry as a player, leading the players association and as Richmonds CEO (all sucessfuly)so how does that get trumped by Senior
Vice President & Managing Director of a primarily kids entertainment business for 6 years as well as 12 years in various lower grade managers positions within the company and
9 years as Bulldogs club president?
Yes Kylie has an impressive resume but only her Presidents role with the Bulldogs has given her exposure to the AFL and last time I checked weren't the Bulldogs holding their
hands out for AFL assistance?
Unfortunatly if it has taken this long I don't believe that either will get the gig but one of the AFL boys club. >:(
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Firstly, my comment was solely based on the reports that it is down to 2 candidates. Dillon and Watson-Wheeler
Do you know something about Disney Australia we don't?
Disney has lost value in the tens of Billions in the last year so has the Australian arm bucked the trend?
Disney+ which she has overseen the launch of has gone well. From what I've read Disney in Australia has been and continues to be a strong financial company in Australia
And she's had senior roles at Coca-Cola, Hallmark and Penguin Books
Benny has spent the last 30 years in the AFL industry as a player, leading the players association and as Richmonds CEO (all sucessfuly)so how does that get trumped by Senior
Vice President & Managing Director of a primarily kids entertainment business for 6 years as well as 12 years in various lower grade managers positions within the company and
9 years as Bulldogs club president?
No one is disputing Benny's CV of ALL the candidates is way above but for reasons only the AFL can explain he is clearly no longer in the mix
Yes Kylie has an impressive resume but only her Presidents role with the Bulldogs has given her exposure to the AFL and last time I checked weren't the Bulldogs holding their
hands out for AFL assistance?
Unfortunatly if it has taken this long I don't believe that either will get the gig but one of the AFL boys club. >:(
I'm not sure AFL exposure is a key requirement to the Commission. Before joining the AFL what exposure to the industry did Gil have? What about Dillon? Prior to jping the AFL as legal counsel?
As for the Bulldgos and hand outs, yeah they get a fair whack of funding but it is decreasing. At least while she's been at the Bulldogs she been part of the team board if not President that got them out of pokies.
If she is the one of the last 2 remaining candidates and she is the best person for the job of the 2 then she gets the job. Not because of her gender but because she is the best person for the job
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GILLON MCLACHLAN CAN'T PUT TIMEFRAME ON AFL DEPARTURE
“People always want a date. The process (to appoint my successor), I think you see in the media, is clearly coming to a head… I committed to my chairman to do some things, the Tasmania thing is there and I think you can see a horizon on that one way or another.
“Footy’s going really well, I’m as committed as ever… that stuff will all work out. After that, I don’t know.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/04/13/gillon-mclachlan-cant-put-timeframe-on-afl-departure/
Your Chairman Gil? Well he doesn't have the best track record in overseeing and governing what his CEOs do. So what things does he want you do? Create some more stupid rule changes, do nothing about the farcical MaRO system to name a few?
You know he is the same chairman who has let a certain CEO single handedly decimate our once proud Australian Airline to something that is an embarrassment
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Brendan dodging a bullet.
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Well Tom Browne tonight on 7news reckons Kylie Watson-Wheeler is now the favourite.
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They'll pick the girl because she's a girl
>:(
Or maybe she'll get it because she is incredibly successful as a CEO and is the best person for the job.
She looks after one of many regional offices of a subscriber TV service. Hardly comparable to the AFL job. She’d be a disaster.
If she gets it because it’s another tick the box female appointment over Benny then Goyter should be dragged out of that job kicking and screaming tomorrow
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According to Caro:
Clubs not happy with the AFL chairman Richard Goyder, the process and how Benny Gale has been treated.
Benny Gale though hasn't been told he's no longer in the running.
Gill didn't support Benny Gale's nomination.
Caro believes damage has been done to Gale's presentation.
WATCH: https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1647943385515450368
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Old mate Goyder endorses a female who runs some small fry company. Disney Australia that’s laughable. What are her qualifications? Arts degree?
Goyder has a habit of endorsing the biggest flogs in corporate Australia. His arse licking of that Irish POS joyce has been a thing of beauty, as they happily continue to rip off thousands of Australians.
I can’t think of a bigger pos in this country along with Andrew’s than Joyce and his bum sucking 2IC in Goyder.
https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-has-had-enough-20230416-p5d0ve
What a surprise Benny treated like poo. We knew he wouldn’t get it . This is not because of his presentation, rather due to the RFC connection.
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I couldn't care any less about this. I want Benny to stay and if they treat him like the better for us. As selfish as that is would love him around for our 2nd tilt at another successful era.
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Goyder has aggressively described Joyce as “the best CEO in Australia by a length of a straight”. In a personal defence of the Qantas boss, Goyder declared that, “believe it or not, Alan has a heart”
Goyder and Alan Joyce what a combination.
Goyder is a sycophant.
:whistle
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All these outstanding issues the AFL say need to be sorted before Gill can hand over …. Is there a time line on them?
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Who does the AFL report to and represent apart from the government of the day and their own def interest. They are an appointed old boys / girls dictatorship now ,who are more worried about corporates and pandering to politicians and social engineering. The AFL no longer represents most clubs, club members or supporters and think they are more important than the game.
How did the clubs allow our game to be stolen by a bunch of ego maniacs
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Camboon I don’t even think the AFL report to government, other that when funds are distributed , or community standards are required or to the ATO . The AFL appear to have lost the average punter but I think this happened sometime ago.it wouldn’t take much to win us back though, more transparency and democracy and concern for the poor mug that goes every week
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Camboon I don’t even think the AFL report to government, other that when funds are distributed , or community standards are required or to the ATO .
Correct Gig,
The biggest thing the AFL does around govt is put their hand out for funding of stadiums etc...
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When facilities are built is there a requirement that they be accessible to the local community ? I think that’s how punt road operates , although stadiums being built are usually not for the general public other than to watch an event
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....
When facilities are built is there a requirement that they be accessible to the local community ? I think that’s how punt road operates , although stadiums being built are usually not for the general public
In a lot of cases yes the selling point of community access and use gets funding
But I see what is going on with Tassie is bordering on blackmail as there is no community access with that stadium. And for Gil & Co to say to the Govt you need to cough up funding or tassie doesn't get a license is disgraceful
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Which makes me think just maybe the current AFL admin are not all that keen on a Tassie side and these are just purpose built roadblocks they have put in the way
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I don’t disagree that there is any direct reporting .My understanding is some of the funding like punt road is /was provided on the setting of community standards set by Governments being achieved and through the setting of KPI’s through reporting to ethics and standards committees . These are often through consultation and agreement which explains why they are more than often in sync. Happy to be wrong but that how it was explained to me.
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Veteran AFL journalist Pete Ryan has called out the “extraordinarily poor” process to find AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan’s successor.
The likes of Andrew Dillon, Travis Auld, Brendon Gale, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Tom Harley, Kylie Rogers and more have been part of the process throughout and Ryan believes reputations have been hurt because of the drawn-out process.
“Well, the process has been extraordinarily poor in that it has taken so long to actually get to a decision and that it has affected the brands of people who are involved in the process such as Andrew Dillon and Travis Auld and Brendon Gale and now Kylie Watson-Wheeler,” Ryan told SEN’s Sportsday.
Full article: https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/04/19/extraordinarily-poor-drawn-out-afl-ceo-process-has-damaged-brands/
ps. Eddie last night said there was a (10%) chance Gill could change his mind and stay on as CEO.
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WHO WAS WINNING THE RACE AND HOW DO THE CANDIDATES LOOK?
Scott Gullan
HeraldSun
22 April 2023
A female legacy piece was Richard Goyder’s back-up plan which blew up in smoke spectacularly over last weekend’s Gather Round.
In his other roles as chairman of Woodside Petroleum and Qantas Airways, Goyder has actively promoted women and the thought of being the one to install the first female AFL CEO appealed.
Woodside’s chief executive is Meg O’Neill while two of the leading candidates to replace Alan Joyce at Qantas later this year are Qantas Loyalty chief executive Olivia Wirth and the airline’s chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson.
Goyder’s anointed ground-breaker in the AFL was the highly regarded and well-credentialed Kylie Watson-Wheeler, the Western Bulldogs president and CEO of the Walt Disney Company Australian and New Zealand arm.
Her name had been thrown up at the start of the search with a dozen others but the trail went cold as the focus turned elsewhere before she suddenly emerged last week as the chairman’s chosen one.
The AFL engaged New York based recruitment company Spencer Stuart and have paid them over $1 million to run the worldwide search to find McLachlan’s replacement.
First interviews happened in June last year with candidates sounded out including club chief executives Brendon Gale (Richmond), Tom Harley (Sydney), David Matthews (GWS Giants) and Simon Garlick (Fremantle).
The in-house candidates were the AFL’s General Counsel and General Manager Football Operations Andrew Dillon, Travis Auld (GM Finance, Clubs and Broadcast) and Kylie Rogers (GM Customer and Commercial).
Then for nine months nothing happened. The search ground to a halt for reasons no-one has explained.
Behind-the-scenes opinions were being sought from club presidents and other industry figures although the Herald Sun understands that neither the recruitment firm, nor Goyder, sought out Demetriou for his take which shocked many.
“It’s hard to believe Andrew Demetriou didn’t get a phone call, you’d think he would know what is required to be the CEO of the AFL,” an industry source said.
It wasn’t until March that a short list of candidates were summoned to Spencer Stuart’s Melbourne office at 101 Collins St.
By this stage Dillon was considered the front-runner from Gale before Goyder fell in love with Watson-Wheeler’s business nous which included which including being a senior executive at the Hallmark greeting cards business in the US.
The lack of excitement around Gale has been the biggest surprise of the process. There is a sense he was never “really in it” with his relationship with McLachlan and Goyder a sticking point.
“Brendon Gale came second in the process in 2014, one in which Gillon McLachlan was a shoe-in and the anointed one,” a club boss observed this week.
“Since 2014 he has won three premierships, got 100,000 members, put $20 million in the bank and set up external businesses for the Richmond Football Club yet he didn’t make the top two.
“And don’t forget he’s a lawyer, played 250 games and was president of the Players’ Association. I mean how is Kylie Watson-Wheeler ahead of Brendon Gale?”
When the Herald Sun exclusively revealed that Watson-Wheeler had cancelled a speaking engagement in Melbourne last week to be a late addition to the AFL’s lavish Gather Round dinner at the prestigious Magill Estate winery in South Australia, she was quickly wound into favourite.
But Goyder’s plan hit a snag at the Commission table where it’s believed he was rolled by a vote of 4-3 to make Watson-Wheeler the new CEO.
If the clubs were frustrated before, they left Adelaide steaming, particularly after McLachlan engineered a three-year deal, worth around $60 million, for Gather Round to remain in Adelaide.
That was a decision many believed should have been one for the incoming CEO, not the one who was allegedly in his final days.
Watson-Wheeler left the City of Churches embarrassed and flew overseas on a holiday with her children. She never wanted her name to come out given her Disney commitments and like the assistant coach who keeps missing out on the senior job, it’s not a great look.
With Auld linked to the vacant Australian Grand Prix gig, the sense by the end of the highly successful football feast in Adelaide was that it was back to Dillon even though Goyder had apparently been concerned he didn’t want it enough.
The reason the clubs love Dillon is his no-fuss personality, he’s very good at his job and does it without the fanfare which clearly the AFL chair would like to see more of.
If it does fall Dillon’s way – he has been at the AFL for 22 years – how must he be feeling?
He has been in front of the Commission’s eyes the whole time and they’ve spent most of the past 12 months trying to find reasons not to appoint him.
“They have humiliated the candidates,” one experienced AFL figure said. “How does anyone go into the job feeling they have got a really solid imprimatur to be able to create the change they want to create with this environment of uncertainty which has been created by an inept Commission.
“At the end of it all they will appoint Andrew Dillon, they could have picked him out five years ago and prepared him. So much for needing time for the worldwide search, they’ll go with the man who has been in their backyard the whole time.
“Seriously, we are getting laughed at.”
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/inside-the-afls-ceo-search-farce-what-has-happened-since-gillon-mclachlan-announced-his-departure-from-the-top-job/news-story/8b74f239d6eb189fd854096428be5a81
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Pretty sure Demetriou was a crook, wasn't he? You wouldn't ask Platini and Blatter what it takes to run FIFA.
Limited people HATE it when someone who is terrific at their job comes along and would show them up without even meaning to. That's why Gale can't have it. He'd make Gill look like an imposter.
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Mitch Cleary on 7news saying Andrew Dillon will be the new CEO to replace Gill.
He also said Benny Gale could be offered a beefed-up role within the AFL related to the start-up of new Tasmanian team.
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Here's the 7news report:
Could Brendon Gale be AFL-bound in a beefed-up role to oversee Tasmania’s entry into the AFL?
https://twitter.com/cleary_mitch/status/1651150355324080129
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Mitch Cleary on 7news saying Andrew Dillon will be the new CEO to replace Gill.
He also said Benny Gale could be offered a beefed-up role within the AFL related to the start-up of new Tasmanian team.
Sounds like a poo job. Maybe keeping him around in case Dill f's it all up.
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"The job is Andrew Dillon's but for one point – and that is if they can get Gillon to stay on & keep Dillon at the same time."
Eddie McGuire gives us all the latest on where things stand with the AFL's CEO search.
https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1651176468226142210
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Garry and Tim discuss Brendon Gale's potential role at the AFL and with the Tasmanian team.
https://twitter.com/1116sen/status/1651454878558957575
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Why Brendon Gale has been overlooked for AFL CEO position
It’s the question on everyone’s lips: why wasn’t Brendon Gale appointed the next AFL CEO? Because the Commission often presents like a secret society, writes Mark Robinson.
Mark Robinson
HeraldSun
April 28, 2023 - 1:46PM
Brendon Gale is football’s elephant in the room.
Why wasn’t he appointed the next chief executive officer of the AFL?
No slight on the respected Andrew Dillon, who is expected to replace Gillon McLachlan in what would be yet another in-house selection.
It’s a curious situation when the $1 million worldwide search found Dillon one office away from McLachlan in the game’s Docklands headquarters, just as McLachlan was an office away from Andrew Demetriou, who was an office away from Wayne Jackson, and Jackson himself was a commissioner during the Ross Oakley era.
It’s like a mafia family and only “made men’’ reap the rewards.
Clubs wanted to break this cycle, because they felt a person was needed from outside the institution, and one with expansive club knowledge.
It’s why every senior figure at club level contacted by the Herald Sun finds it “bizarre’’ and “bewildering’’ that Gale has not already been appointed McLachlan’s successor – or should be.
Why not, they ask.
What has the AFL got against Richmond’s chief executive, they ask.
Because the AFL Commission often presents like a secret society, chaired by Richard Goyder, those same club figures are left to only surmise why Gale has seemingly been death-ridden by people within the AFL.
He might not even run second, or perhaps even third, in the race for McLachlan’s job, when he was second to McLachlan last time around.
It’s mind-boggling.
Gale’s CV is a rip snorter: 244-game player, lawyer, Players’ Association boss, Tigers CEO, helped save a crumbling football club, three flags, 100,000 members, league-leading Indigenous programs, bundles of generated cash, well liked, well respected, loves the game and respects the fans.
But apparently not that rip snorting enough.
Former Richmond president Peggy O’Neal is a fan of Dillon’s but is mystified by the potential Gale snub.
“Decisions are made which I just don’t understand and haven’t for a while,’’ O’Neal said.
“I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job than Brendon, so I don’t know what the dilemma is, really.
“Maybe he sees major changes are needed and others don’t want that to happen, I don’t know ... it’s a mystery.
“I do wonder what else they want when you consider all he has done in his career, the commercial side of things, he’s a lawyer, players’ association, and then coming to Richmond when we were down on our luck ... and to be so determined for the turnaround, and it happened, and way, way the large part goes to Brendon.
“He’s a very intellectually curious person who has a lot of skills beyond what you see on game day.
“I’m not sure what criteria the AFL is looking for, and sometimes when you’re interviewing you think, and not just for AFL jobs, sometimes people go with someone they know rather than take a chance.’’
She argued the AFL had to look outside, an opinion shared by most of her former counterpart presidents.
“We’re at a point where I think (we need) someone outside AFL (headquarters) and someone who knows club land because the clubs really need to have a say of what happens, and I’ve thought that for a long time,’’ she said.
“We put on the show. TV rights and all those kinds of things are going well because the show is pretty good and that’s because we put a team out every week, and we bring the fans, and I just think we’ve lost sight somewhere along the way about where the control really lies and the ability to exercise it.
“The commission was set up to avoid club bias, but I think we need someone who understands the stress of club land.’’
Like many, O’Neal is flabbergasted that the search took so long.
“I think most people who have been in this mix for a while have had to put their lives on hold, and that’s not fair,’’ she said. “We change governments faster than this. BHP change CEOs faster than this.’’
The year-long fiasco to find the replacement for McLachlan – and the machinations of recent weeks in particular – could prompt a severe shake-up of the commission.
It is said Goyder wanted Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler in McLachlan’s chair, but clubs didn’t like that idea, nor did some members of the commission, who allegedly voted down Goyder’s left-field idea.
That’s not good news for Goyder. Put it this way, if the coach declares who he wants as captain and the support staff say no, the coach clearly has lost authority.
Senior club figures have suggested Goyder will be gone within 12 months. Some of those senior figures say it can’t come quick enough because, in their time, they have never seen a more dysfunctional and vanilla commission table, and one bereft of football IQ.
Certainly, club presidents are headed for a showdown with Goyder and, as a group, they will likely soon call for an urgent meeting with him and the commission.
The presidents have no say about who will be the league’s next CEO, but they are all over the two vacant spots on the commission and possibly one or two more.
The clubs want former player and administrator Andrew Ireland and Ireland wants in. Leigh Matthews is also warming to the idea of being a commissioner. And Matthew Pavlich is seemingly the No.1 draft pick on that front.
Another name to emerge in recent days is Collingwood director Jodie Sizer, who has done a power of work in the wake of the Magpies’ Do Better Report.
One of Australia’s foremost Indigenous leaders, Sizer could be a contender for the position held by Helen Milroy, who is expected to depart the commission.
It’s possible the club presidents could push for all four to join the commission in what would be a major overhaul.
Even Goyder’s potential successor as chairman, Robin Bishop, an investment banker who has been on the commission since 2017, might not have the support from the presidents that he’d hope to have.
McLachlan has been the ultimate po-ker player throughout, holding his cards close about when he’s departing and even closer about who should replace him.
He says he’s had nothing to do with it, but that can’t be true. Goyder won’t open an envelope without McLachlan’s blessing, so it’s incongruous to believe Goyder hasn’t asked McLachlan for his input, or more to the point, McLachlan hasn’t offered it.
And so he should as the incumbent.
But it’s fair to say if McLachlan believed Gale was his appropriate replacement, it would’ve happened.
It’s also fair to say Richmond has had, at times, a combative relationship with headquarters in recent years and popular opinion has it that the AFL frowns upon unruly clubs.
Like the time in May, 2021, Gale, and coach Damien Hardwick, were loath to play a home game at Marvel Stadium.
“To have the MCG – one of the world’s great sporting stadiums – empty this weekend just makes no sense. We should be playing at the MCG,” Gale said.
“Playing at Marvel this weekend will minimise crowds and that goes against everything the industry wants to deliver. We want fans at games.”
Hardwick added post game: “Mate, I hate coming here. I probably shouldn’t say that.’’
There was also Richmond’s frustration at the hubs set up, and the late-night punch up at the kebab caravan, and the breaking of curfew, one of them being by the wife of then Tigers captain Trent Cotchin.
In searching for reasons as to why Gale has seemingly been overlooked for the role, there’s a suggestion that some at the AFL have a set against Gale’s wife, Jane.
It sounds crazy, but club bosses have heard the scuttlebutt and so, too, have some in the media.
Jane Gale is a warm, engaging and enthusiastic person who speaks her mind and – if the suggestion is true – maybe that’s too much of a handful for the AFL.
If she has played any part in her husband being overlooked for the job, it says more about the AFL than it does Jane.
At the start of the 2022 season, and in an interview with this newspaper, McLachlan was bemused by questions about his relationship with Gale, and whether he had any issues with the Tigers, as was suggested through the club’s tumultuous 2021 season.
“Zero issues,’’ McLachlan said.
On Gale, he said: “From my perspective, he’s an excellent chief executive and he and I have a great relationship and we’re friends. I think we’re friends.’’
Could he do your job? “Yes. Clearly it has to be the best person, but I think being a club chief executive means you’re more qualified than less qualified.’’
But not qualified enough, apparently.
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/mark-robinson-why-brendon-gale-has-been-overlooked-for-afl-ceo-position/news-story/ec3eadc24b479bd38543a826cda79f37
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Good article Robbo - hit the nail on the head.
The AFL mafia don't want any outsiders getting hold of the keys and then changing the locks.
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The building belongs to us the commission are the caretakers of the building that’s all, we give them the keys.
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Great to hear from Peggy
One of the advantages of her no longer being officially connected to the Club she can say things without fear or favour
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AFL HQ is an insular boys club :thumbsdown. Add in their gripe against Richmond and Benny was no chance.
Well done Peggy with her comments. She clearly sees right through the cronies running the AFL.
ps. If there's any truth to their view of Benny's wife, Jane, then that's a disgrace. It's not the 1800s or 1950s anymore ::).
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I don’t know how it ever got to this stage, all the appointed people on the AFL boards experience in AFL football clubs is something they read in the newspaper or sitting in a company corporate box . It explains why it’s focus is now on the political issues of the day and why they make football rule decisions on a whim because they didn’t like the look of something or it might make for better tv viewing .
The focus should be football related first and other issue second if relevant
As suggested the AFL has become a corporate secret society with jobs for the boys
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Great to hear from Peggy
One of the advantages of her no longer being officially connected to the Club she can say things without fear or favour
Not to mention that massive credibility she has built being on a board and president. If Goyder wants a woman in a leadership role at HQ, he’d be hard pressed to find a better replacement for HIM than our Peggy.
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ps. If there's any truth to their view of Benny's wife, Jane, then that's a disgrace. It's not the 1800s or 1950s anymore ::).
Or as recently as the early to mid 2000's if you want to be really honest ;) Who could forget the outcry from so many (including some on here) when Peggy was made President
Or just in the last few weeks the comments at the possibility that a woman might have become CEO of the comp.****
Sadly MT, some things move very slowly in the AFL landscape. It is truly frightening to me just how out of touch they are at HQ on so many levels
**** and before people start potting me about Watson-Wheeler saying I wanted her to get the job. I never said that all I ever said was that if she was the best person out of the supposed final 2 then she should get the gig. Gender should not play any part in it
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ps. If there's any truth to their view of Benny's wife, Jane, then that's a disgrace. It's not the 1800s or 1950s anymore ::).
Or as recently as the early to mid 2000's if you want to be really honest ;) Who could forget the outcry from so many (including some on here) when Peggy was made President
Or just in the last few weeks the comments at the possibility that a woman might have become CEO of the comp.****
Sadly MT, some things move very slowly in the AFL landscape. It is truly frightening to me just how out of touch they are at HQ on so many levels
**** and before people start potting me about Watson-Wheeler saying I wanted her to get the job. I never said that all I ever said was that if she was the best person out of the supposed final 2 then she should get the gig. Gender should not play any part in it
I respect your opinion WP on most things but there is no well in hell Kylie Watson-Wheeler CV stacks up against Gale's. She should never have been in front of him for the role. That's nothing to do with her being female rather she flat out does not have the experience.
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I respect your opinion WP on most things but there is no well in hell Kylie Watson-Wheeler CV stacks up against Gale's. She should never have been in front of him for the role. That's nothing to do with her being female rather she flat out does not have the experience.
Knighter, with respect I posted the below a few weeks ago. My comment today was just to remind people of my views from a fortnight ago
Firstly, my comment was solely based on the reports that it is down to 2 candidates. Dillon and Watson-Wheeler....
No one is disputing Benny's CV of ALL the candidates is way above but for reasons only the AFL can explain he is clearly no longer in the mix
If she is the one of the last 2 remaining candidates and she is the best person for the job of the 2 then she gets the job. Not because of her gender but because she is the best person for the job
I made it clear that IMV Benny's CV outstrips all of them but the buffoons at HQ in particular the Chairman don't think so
So I will repeat if she was the best person for the job out of the final 2 candidates which apparently was her and Dillon then she should get the job.
Were the final 2, the best final 2 candidates? That is a different argument all together which is exactly what Robbo raises in his opinion piece. And my answer to that question is that they were absolutely not the best candidates
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If Benny has indeed missed out , then where to next for Benny?
Caro hinted that he might be headed to greater things outside the football community. If this transpires it will be a huge loss for us but also the greater football community. We talk about once in a generation players , but I think it also applies to Brendon
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Where is the chief.
:shh
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Just confirmed across all media outlets
Dillon is the new CEO
But...... and you gotta love this
Gil staying on until the end of the season (October). To finsih some stuff and for a transitioning of the role
So when Dill takes over from Gil it would have been over 18 months since Gil resigned
Only at AFL HQ could this happen :help
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Thanks for the Update WP
No mention of our Benny in the communique or the alleged super Tasmania role hinted at for him
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Thanks for the Update WP
No mention of our Benny in the communique or the alleged super Tasmania role hinted at for him
Nope, all about Dill and Gil
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Retirement tour / junket for Gil!
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Andrew Dillon won out in a "very competitive process" to be named the new boss of the AFL on Monday.
AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder said the Commission had met on the weekend of round six to make a recommendation on the successor for Gillon McLachlan, who will stay on in a transition period through to October.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/913155/-truly-humbled-andrew-dillon-appointed-new-afl-ceo
https://www.afl.com.au/news/917594/in-his-own-words-dillon-on-hawks-tassie-gill-his-biggest-challenge
"very competitive process" .... yeah right! :whistle
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According to Tom Browne on 7news tonight:
* Andrew Dillon's is keen on Benny Gale being the AFL's new football boss.
* It will be a bigger portfolio than what Brad Scott had. Closer to what Ian Collins was back in a day. In control of all matters football, Tasmania, etc.
* Benny Gale has to decide whether he wants to leave Richmond and go for this job.
Go to 1:00 min mark: https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1652958157885554688
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Benny Gale on twitter:
We at @Richmond_FC, congratulate Andrew Dillon on his appointment and wish him well. Andrew is a fine person who has been a longstanding servant of our game. He brings experience and capability to the role, and he’ll enjoy widespread support throughout the @AFL community.
https://twitter.com/brendongale25/status/1652843252897452033
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Is the search on.. :shh
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What’s next for the overlooked candidates?
Chris Cavanagh
HeraldSun
2 May 2023
BRENDON GALE
Viewed by many as very unlucky to miss out on the AFL’s biggest job. A practised lawyer, he has served as Richmond chief executive since August 2009. Originally from Tasmania, there is a push for Gale to lead the league’s planned 19th team on the Apple Isle. He is also likely to be pursued to be Dillon’s right-hand man as football boss at AFL House.
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/andrew-dillon-to-pursue-richmond-ceo-brendon-gale-for-key-football-role-at-the-afl/news-story/6bc298577f0ecb85b2962933c9149f2f
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i think Benny is going to leave. Hope he stays but cant see it happening with the cash these corrupt pricks at him.
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At one point this morning I thought he was going to be announced as the new head of Qantas. That’s the level worthy of Benny not the assistant to the AFL CEO.
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When does that Goyder leave the AFL, hoping soon, the more I see and hear of him the more I understand why the AFL has run off the rails, the rot start at the head
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From Barrett's 'Sliding Doors' column:
(https://resources.afl.com.au/photo-resources/2020/11/17/8a4c2df0-2497-41a0-85ac-8cab8feed48a/richmond.jpg?width=952)
IF ...
Brendon Gale has been CEO of the Tigers since 2009 and deserves nearly as much credit as Dusty and Dimma for the three flags in that time ...
THEN ...
I can't see him staying beyond this season. I reckon the AFL will present to him a job profile and package he won't be able refuse to run its football division. And he'd be perfect for it.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/917807/if-jhf-lines-up-on-the-package-then
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Gale opens up on AFL role speculation
Chris Cavanagh
HeraldSun
6 May 2023
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale says he is unlikely to have another crack at the AFL’s top job and is yet to be approached by league headquarters about filling the vacant head of football role.
Gale ran second to Gillon McLachlan in the league’s search for a chief executive in 2014 and threw his hat in the ring again last year when McLachlan announced his departure.
McLachlan’s right-hand man, Andrew Dillon, ultimately won the latest process and was appointed CEO-elect this week before he officially takes the reigns from McLachlan in October.
Asked on Saturday if he would have another crack at running the AFL, Gale, 54, said that was a longshot.
“Right now, probably not,” he said.
“I should quote the politicians – never say never. But I think my age is against me. Andrew will have a good run at it. He’s got every right to. He’ll do a wonderful job and I’m sure he’ll be well supported. There will be widespread support from the AFL community.
“At the end of the day, this (at club land) is where the magic is. This is where you create history and build your dreams and aspirations and sometimes challenges and struggle. You know you’re alive out here so maybe that’s where it’s at.”
Dillon is leading the search for a new head of football at the AFL and has indicated that Gale would be a good candidate for that role.
The AFL’s new head of football will play a key role in setting up the league’s new Tasmanian team, which is set to enter the competition in 2028.
However, Gale said talk linking him to that position was “pure speculation” for now.
“I don’t know where those reports are coming from,” Gale said on 3AW radio.
“I’m fairly passionate about Tasmanian footy. I think it’s an incredible opportunity and the AFL will learn from the last two experiences with the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney. There will be some great lessons. But my focus right now is getting our season back on track.”
Gale dismissed suggestions that he was frustrated by time it took for the AFL to appoint a new chief executive, saying he went into the process with “eyes wide open and with the support of the board”.
He also defended his wife Jane, amid speculation in the industry that some at the AFL had a set against her.
“When you put your hand up for these sort of roles, you’re subject to scrutiny,” Gale said.
“My wife’s been an incredible support to me as a wife, as a partner, my family. She’s a very intelligent person, she’s a very engaging person and she’s been an asset to our football club.”
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/afl-round-8-latest-news-and-analysis-from-richmond-v-west-coast/news-story/781c70a016c39950c9504438ae028f98
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TIGERS SHUT DOWN GALE SPECULATION DESPITE LINKS TO AFL HOUSE
Seb Mottram
SEN
24 May 2023
Richmond president John O’Rourke is confident he’ll have Brendon Gale remaining at Richmond for the short term at least.
With Hardwick walking out on the club on Tuesday morning, plenty of eyeballs turn to Gale in pondering what the Tigers CEO will do.
Gale started his time as the boss at Punt Road at a siilar timing to Hardwick’s appointment at Tigerland and the two are credited with rebuilding the Richmond Football Club on and off the field.
Despite speculation, O’Rourke is confident he’s got Gale’s full commitment for the time being.
“He was there a few days after Damien joined and the two of them are the architects of restoring Richmond as a powerhouse club both on and off the field,” O’Rouke – who officially replaced Peggy O’Neal in December last year – told SEN’s The Run Home.
“They just worked incredibly well together. Brendon, I think he is fully committed to Richmond, he knows that.
“Again, nothing is forever, but for the time being we’re delighted he’s doubling down with Richmond.
“He’s not got this challenge to work with the coaching team and work with the board on a new appointment.
“We’ve got a big redevelopment project Brendon is passionate about, I think he’s very committed to that for the near term at least.”
O’Rourke’s comments come despite Gale recently admitting to taking part in the AFL’s process to be the next league CEO.
While the extremely well-credentialed CEO ultimately missed out on the job to Andrew Dillon, the AFL is reported to be courting Gale to be its new football boss.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/05/23/tigers-shut-down-gale-speculation-despite-links-to-afl-house/
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From Caro in The Age:
Gale, too, could leave Tigerland.
He remains the front-runner for the top football job at the AFL, potentially becoming the game’s No. 2 under Andrew Dillon.
That Dillon has declared he will not restructure his football department until the end of the season and that he is searching for a senior club executive is telling.
That gives Gale and his team three to four months to identify Richmond’s new coach and reignite the Tigers’ football program before potentially putting in place an executive succession plan of his own. And design a fitting MCG farewell for the three-time premiership coach, who refused a farewell game this Sunday.
That, technically, is how it will play out. If together Gale, Hardwick, O’Neal and Cotchin, and later Neil Balme led the rebuilding of Richmond, the departures leave the building stable but no longer a fortress.
Emotionally for many at the club on Tuesday the reality of Hardwick’s departure and what would follow was too sad to contemplate. Equally true, though, is that although Hardwick has left a club at the crossroads, he has left not a moment too soon.
Source: The Age (https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/signposts-to-end-of-hardwick-era-first-emerged-in-2020-20230523-p5dami.html).
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From Barrett's 'Sliding Doors' column:
IF ...
Benny Gale, arguably more than anyone, shaped the Tigers' all-time great premiership dynasty ...
THEN ...
he's got one more important task: find the next Damien Hardwick. And the moment he's done that, he needs to head to the AFL to oversee its entire football operations. Seemingly every club is screaming for this to happen, too.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/932556/if-2002-and-2003-ended-with-lions-pies-grand-finals-then
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I couldn’t care less if they are screaming for this to happen..Stay where you are Benny , religions will be formed in your honour in the years to come.
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From Barrett's 'Sliding Doors' column:
IF ...
Benny Gale, arguably more than anyone, shaped the Tigers' all-time great premiership dynasty ...
THEN ...
he's got one more important task: find the next Damien Hardwick. And the moment he's done that, he needs to head to the AFL to oversee its entire football operations. Seemingly every club is screaming for this to happen, too.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/932556/if-2002-and-2003-ended-with-lions-pies-grand-finals-then
Barrett doesnt get it a lot of our own supporters dont get it. Damien Hardwick was and always has been just a cog in a wheel.
I still look at the way he coached from 2010 right up to the end of 2016 and then came the club review. All assistant coaches changed and Hardwick probably hung on by the skin of his teeth.
Come 2017 and all of a sudden with a huge influx of new coaches and ideas we play a different way.
The review pointed out deficiencies right thru the club from recruiting, list management, development,fitness. mental fitness recovery everything and credit where its due they bought in 100%.
That all happened what 7 or 8 years ago and we have hit a wall. It is time to evolve Gales job is not to just replace Hardwick as i said he was just a small cog in a big wheel. Gales job is to ensure we well evolve and change and have the best people in place to take us forward maybe its time for another review we all see how insular and protective we have become when it comes to everyone who has bought success. Time for an outside independent review to open up the eyes and set us on an unbiased path just like 2016.
I dont think tiger supporters or the footy world appreciate just how important that 2016 review was.
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From Barrett's 'Sliding Doors' column:
IF ...
Benny Gale, arguably more than anyone, shaped the Tigers' all-time great premiership dynasty ...
THEN ...
he's got one more important task: find the next Damien Hardwick. And the moment he's done that, he needs to head to the AFL to oversee its entire football operations. Seemingly every club is screaming for this to happen, too.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/932556/if-2002-and-2003-ended-with-lions-pies-grand-finals-then
Barrett doesnt get it a lot of our own supporters dont get it. Damien Hardwick was and always has been just a cog in a wheel.
I still look at the way he coached from 2010 right up to the end of 2016 and then came the club review. All assistant coaches changed and Hardwick probably hung on by the skin of his teeth.
Come 2017 and all of a sudden with a huge influx of new coaches and ideas we play a different way.
The review pointed out deficiencies right thru the club from recruiting, list management, development,fitness. mental fitness recovery everything and credit where its due they bought in 100%.
That all happened what 7 or 8 years ago and we have hit a wall. It is time to evolve Gales job is not to just replace Hardwick as i said he was just a small cog in a big wheel. Gales job is to ensure we well evolve and change and have the best people in place to take us forward maybe its time for another review we all see how insular and protective we have become when it comes to everyone who has bought success. Time for an outside independent review to open up the eyes and set us on an unbiased path just like 2016.
I dont think tiger supporters or the footy world appreciate just how important that 2016 review was.
Yeah good points and I tend to agree. I agree we have let standards slip since 2020 clearly evident from player development to fitness and medical and recruitment at times to.
The thing is you fail to recognise that dynasties always come to a end how many times we have seen it , the club needs to involve and rebuilt, and bottoming out is inevitable. We need to review the football department and raise our standards again, or will it take us another 30 plus years like previously.Under Gale and Balme, I'm confident.
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Gale has not received a phone call from the AFL despite speculation he is a wanted man at league headquarters as it searches for a new football boss.
“I’m the CEO of the Richmond Football Club,” Gale said.
“We’ve got to find a new coach, we’ve got to build a $93 million incredible facility at Punt Rd, we’ve got to find a lot of money still, there’s a lot of work to do here.
“There’s a lot of speculation going on, but it’s news to me.”
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/richmond-ceo-brendon-gale-provides-update-on-search-for-new-coach/news-story/579c53c855a7bb9ac82f9f42b54df725
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From Barrett's 'Sliding Doors' column:
(https://resources.afl.com.au/photo-resources/2020/11/17/8a4c2df0-2497-41a0-85ac-8cab8feed48a/richmond.jpg?width=952)
IF ...
Brendon Gale was acting purely as Richmond CEO when outlining on Tuesday the developments around the serious WA police charges against Marlion Pickett ...
THEN ...
it may have doubled as another audition for the vacant AFL football operations role. Calm, measured, thoughtful, diplomatic, experienced, confident, hard, and always fair.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/950142/if-grumpy-ross-has-morphed-into-cuddly-ross-then
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AFL SET TO APPOINT GENERAL MANAGER OF FOOTBALL SOON, RICHMOND BOSS TARGETED
Tom Morris
SEN
12 July 2023
LIKELY POST-MCLACHLAN/AULD STRUCTURE
Chief executive officer: Andrew Dillon
Executive general manager: Likely Brendan Gale. If not, Ameet Bains, Tom Harley or Simon Garlick
General manager: Jimmy Bartel, Josh Mahoney, Dan Richardson or Laura Kane
Football operations manager: Laura Kane (if she's not GM)
-------------------------------------------------------
The AFL will appoint an executive general manager (EGM) of football in the coming weeks and the job is Brendon Gale’s if he wants it.
If he rejects it, the league will then look to a raft of other club CEOs, such as Simon Garlick (Fremantle), Tom Harley (Sydney), and Ameet Bains (Western Bulldogs) to fill the void.
It’s understood second round interviews are being conducted this week with an AFL commissioner involved in each of them.
The EGM of football will be incoming CEO Andrew Dillon’s right-hand person and carry more responsibilities than the traditional footy boss role, which Brad Scott held in 2022.
It will encompass not just football, but also fixturing, concussion, broadcast, Tasmania, and other key responsibilities currently spread across Dillon, Travis Auld and Laura Kane.
The delay in hiring a club CEO to this role, which has frustrated clubs, is for a variety of reasons.
One, Auld – who is the AFL’s chief financial officer and manager of broadcasting, clubs, and fixtures - is currently tied up thrashing out a new pay deal with the AFL Players’ Association.
He is wanted by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and sources expect him to accept the CEO job there, but not before the next collective bargaining agreement is finalised.
Two, with Auld still at the AFL, the league cannot give complete certainty over what areas of his portfolio will be transferred to the new EGM, or someone else at AFL HQ.
And three, none of the league’s first choice candidates – Gale, Harley, Garlick and Bains, plus some footy bosses – would leave their clubs for anything less than the senior EGM job.
As one senior club official said this week: “Gale is not leaving Richmond to take a step backwards into a footy operational role.”
Gale has also made it clear his immediate focus is on appointing a full-time successor to Damien Hardwick.
In recent times, Dillon has canvassed the views of presidents and club officials on what the EGM role should look like.
The transition period between AFL CEOs has been used to work out the best structure of a new-look AFL in the post-McLachlan/Auld era.
The conclusion? The incoming EGM will ideally be a current club CEO – with Gale at the top of the list – supported by a general manager of footy in the Brad Scott mould, plus another position assisting with administration and day to day operations.
The GM of footy role, which the AFL would like to fill with a footy person (as opposed to a CEO-type) that can connect with clubs, will not be finalised until the AFL has an EGM.
Clubs believe Dillon is keen to appoint someone who has a strong profile and confident media presence to complement his skillset to the GM role.
Candidates floated for this position have included Josh Mahoney, Jimmy Bartel, Dan Richardson, and current interim footy boss Laura Kane.
Sources are hopeful Kane, who is highly regarded, will stay in a footy operations role even if she misses out on the GM of football position.
There has been a private acknowledgement from the AFL that under this new and improved structure, the EGM will focus on high level matters in conjunction with Dillon.
Meanwhile the GM of footy and position that accompanies it will have a portfolio that essentially keeps the game running.
It will be a heavily front-facing role, dealing with key issues in the game such as match review controversies and working with clubs to clarify concerns.
One of the main gripes clubs have since Scott left is there is nobody in this position to explain important matters.
Local football, umpiring, laws of the game, MRO, Tasmania, NSW and Queensland footy, pathways for girls and boys and game development will be some of the areas that require close attention and a more cohesive staffing approach.
The league understands the current structure – where a variety of silos report into an acting GM of football – is not sustainable or practicle long-term.
Dillon is said to be keen to streamline the organisational structure and in a bid to get it right, has been in no rush to settle on which people should fill the three key roles.
The AFL is also on the lookout for a football director for the commission. Matthew Pavlich and Leigh Matthews are two names which have been mentioned.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/07/12/afl-set-to-appoint-general-manager-of-football-soon-richmond-boss-targeted/
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Tom Browne on 7news tonight reckons Dillon wants to make Benny Gale his second in command as the Chief Operating Officer of the whole AFL competition with Laura Kane as general manager of football.
WATCH HERE: https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1679051017315553282
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Dimma and Peggy have left a hole to fill.
Not sure if Benny leaving can. Be adequately replaced.. for me this is the most worrying of issues
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Richmond CEO Brendon Gale could accept new role at league HQ
Brendon Gale might soon be the AFL’s second-most powerful man, with the league confident he is considering a new super portfolio.
Jon Ralph
HeraldSun
July 13, 2023 - 4:48PM
Brendon Gale would be footy’s second-most powerful man if he accepted a role that would effectively make him the AFL’s chief operating officer.
Chief financial officer Travis Auld’s official announcement as the Grand Prix’s new chief executive clears the path for the Richmond chief executive to be handed a new super portfolio running many of footy’s most important departments.
But with Auld and Gillon McLachlan leaving the league this year, Gale’s responsibilities could be separate to the football portfolio, which would be taken in by an executive general manager of football.
Gale, who is well aware of the league’s interest, could take in an operating portfolio including the implementation of Tasmania, stadiums, infrastructure, total player payments and salary cap.
It would mean his day-to-day portfolio did not include football, umpires and the tribunal.
AFL clubs continue to urge the league to find more staffers with football experience, so the league could then hand the executive general manager role to another senior club staffer.
The league is increasingly confident Gale is considering the beefed-up role, despite his significant reservations about the AFL overlooking him in a bruising, and prolonged search, for Gillon McLachlan’s replacement.
The league could also farm off Auld’s broadcast responsibilities to another AFL executive member, given a deal has been struck with Seven and Fox Footy through to 2035.
Auld will leave AFL headquarters on August 4 and take up his new Grand Prix role on August 14.
This masthead reported on the day McLachlan announced his departure Gale was the preferred candidate for a new AFL role, followed by Sydney’s Tom Harley and Fremantle’s Simon Garlick.
The league could appoint Gale, as well as an executive general manager of football and still have space for a football boss to fill the role vacated last year by Brad Scott.
Clubs are incredulous that the league has not given more support to its football department, with competition management GM Laura Kane now the acting executive general manager of football.
If Kane was overlooked for that role, she could still take up the football operations role which Scott was in before leaving to coach Essendon.
The league paid tribute to Auld on Wednesday as he continues to work on the new AFL collective bargaining agreement before his departure.
The league said on Wednesday, Dillon continues to work on his “future structure, with a process of appointing an EGM Football in its final stages and to be announced shortly thereafter”.
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/afl-2023-richmond-ceo-brendon-gale-could-accept-new-role-at-league-hq/news-story/ddd546e534cc156a7f8083e23553be6b