AFL club bosses tout David Koch as future league chairman as pressure mounts on Richard Goyder

A club chief has backed David Koch to succeed Richard Goyder as AFL chairman should the Qantas crisis make his position at the league “untenable”.

Disgruntled club bosses have identified Port Adelaide president and retired Sunrise host David Koch as an “ideal candidate” to take over as chairman of the AFL commission.

As pressure rises on league chairman Richard Goyder amid the growing Qantas crisis, the embattled airline where he is also chair, multiple AFL clubs have named Koch as a viable option to succeed him.

Koch, 67, has led the Power since October 2012 and hung up the boots as Sunrise co-host after 21 years in April.

“He’s a very decent bloke who you can talk to and most importantly he understands clubs,” one club chief said of Koch on Thursday.

“If the Qantas situation develops to the point where his (Goyder’s) position as chairman became untenable then naturally the focus would shift to his suitability to lead the AFL.”

David Koch and outgoing AFL boss Gillon McLachlan in 2018. Picture: Sarah Reed

Koch, who is a member of the AFL nominations committee currently interviewing commission candidates, is travelling home from Europe and could not be contacted.

Another senior club figure said Goyder had lost his authority earlier this year after a failed push to install Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler as league chief executive officer.

The commission’s farcical search for Gillon McLachlan’s replacement ultimately landed on his second-in-charge, AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon.

Should Goyder decide to leave or is forced out, the view from most clubs is that the next chair is not a current commissioner.

“If they try to appoint Robin Bishop after Richard Goyder, there will be a revolution amongst the clubs,” one club chief said.

Richard Goyder, Andrew Dillon and Gillon McLachlan. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Two positions on the AFL commission have sat vacant for more than two and a half years, adding to industry frustrations.

Footy great Leigh Matthews withdrew from the commission selection process last week.

Former Giants and Dockers tagger Matt de Boer and respected club administrator Andrew Ireland are leading candidates.

Former Richmond president Peggy O’Neal, whose role as chair of the Commonwealth Games organising committee became redundant last month, has the support of multiple clubs but has not been approached.

Representatives from 16 of the 18 AFL clubs met away from the AFL at a CBD office building last week to discuss the threat to the game of concussion litigation.

While head knocks and the league’s failure to appropriately address the liability exposure to club directors was the focus of the meeting, concerns over the performance of the commission generally were discussed informally.

Plans for further club-only forums are in the works.

Club and AFL chiefs will come together again on Brownlow Medal morning.

Originally published as AFL club bosses tout David Koch as future league chairman as pressure mounts on Richard Goyder