Commission shake up: AFL Chairman breaks silence on succession plans

The AFL commission is often critiqued as a lame duck, but chairman Richard Goyder has told SAM LANDSBERGER its succession planning strategy to set up the league “for the next 50 years”.

Long-serving AFL Commissioners will exit football’s highest office in coming years after chairman Richard Goyder revealed for the first time a succession planning strategy.

Goyder told all 18 club presidents last Wednesday that his first step would be to “refresh” the powerful nominations committee – which acts as a gatekeeper to who joins the AFL Commission.

The nominations committee had come under criticism from some presidents, who described it as “inactive” and claimed it had barely met in recent years.

Two seats on the AFL Commission sat vacant for almost three years until Andrew Ireland and Matt de Boer were appointed in September and formally elected last week.

“We will work with the 18 clubs to refresh the nominations committee following the retirement of Fremantle president Dale Alcock,” Goyder told the Herald Sun on Monday night.

“Those presidents on the nominations committee will play a key role with me and the Commission in helping to identify people with the right skill sets to ensure we have smooth succession planning in place over the coming years and continue to have people who can contribute to setting up the industry for the next 50 years.”

Alcock had been one of five club presidents on the nominations committee.

Richard Goyder has revealed for the first time a succession planning strategy for the AFL Commission. Getty Images.

Club presidents contacted on Monday night called for the “refreshed” nominations committee to prioritise identifying a new commissioner who would join as a chair-elect and ultimately replace Goyder, who has two years left on his term.

Several club presidents are adamant that Goyder’s successor cannot come from the existing commission – unless Ireland decided he wanted the position.

The succession planning revelation comes after Collingwood president Jeff Browne declared that clubs had demonstrated a shift in power away from the commission by fighting for an in-principle agreement on indemnity from concussion lawsuits.

“The club presidents did constitute themselves as a group of 18 to take advice and to pursue the concussion indemnity,” Browne told the Herald Sun.

“The presidents all came together, pressed for an indemnity for the clubs and the officers of the clubs, and in principle that has been agreed with the AFL.

“That would never have been realised in the time that it has without the presidents coming together.

“In that sense there has been a shift in power. It’s not confrontation, it’s actually been a really good process.

“The AFL ultimately have appreciated it – but they would not have been moved into urgent action because they’re notoriously slow and bureaucratic, and the presidents were able to elevate this to the front of their minds and get it resolved.

“It’s one example of how presidents can contribute constructively to the debate about issues in the AFL.

“I’m hoping the presidents as a group will stay together and meet independently of the commission.”

Matt de Boer was formally elected to the AFL Commission last week. Picture: Getty Images

League sources said the league wanted to receive the concussion class action statement of claim before advancing indemnity talks.

They were adamant they were always going to reach this point, but also acknowledged that club presidents had accelerated the process.

It’s understood Goyder wanted to take his time to refill the vacant commission seats because of the timing of the departures.

When long-serving commissioners Kim Williams and Jason Ball retired in 2021 the constricting football industry was still battling its way through Covid.

Goyder’s public commitment to succession planning should appease several disgruntled club bosses because it signals that the addition of Ireland and de Boer is only stage one of an eventual transformation.

Most club bosses expect one or two commissioners to stand aside next year.

Their replacements would join Ireland and de Boer at a table that was being transformed at a healthy and stable pace.

The most recent nominations committee for the AFL Commission had been Goyder (chair), commissioner Simone Wilkie and a president from every state – who were Andrew Wellington (Brisbane), Andrew Pridham (Sydney), Kylie Watson-Wheeler (Western Bulldogs), David Koch (Port Adelaide) and Alcock (Fremantle).

The racism class action levelled against the AFL looms as another potential headache for the commission.

On Monday the AFL Players’ Association said: “As this matter is before the courts, it is inappropriate for us to comment further, however, the AFLPA has a range of support services available for our members, including our Mental Health Navigator Service, and we encourage any member to reach out to us at any time”.