AFL club bosses meet with league to discuss major issues ahead of 2023 season

Nothing was off limits as AFL club bosses met with the league ahead of the 2023 season. Mark Robinson and Jon Ralph take you inside the talks.

Collingwood boss Jeff Browne has strongly pushed the AFL to expand its current football soft cap as the league told clubs it would be endorsing an Indigenous Voice to parliament.

The league held largely cordial meetings with the AFL’s club chief executives and presidents on Thursday and updated them on a range of key issues.

Browne remains adamant that the league is unfairly limiting clubs in their football spend, but he is opposed by several smaller clubs which believe it is an important equalisation lever.

The AFL has already announced an increase to the football department cap to $7.2 million in 2024 which does not include exemptions for club psychologists and Indigenous welfare officers.

The AFL told clubs it would be pushing forward with a positive statement on the Voice, which is likely to take the form of a united campaign with rival codes given the strong Indigenous representation in AFL sport.

Collingwood president Jeff Browne with CEO Craig Kelly. Picture: Michael Klein

The league is generally supportive of the Voice, with the league awaiting work being done by its indigenous advisory council on a co-ordinated campaign in support of legislation which would need support at a referendum.

Clubs continue to ask about the future of Gillon McLachlan, with presidents told at the AFL AGM there was no end date for the AFL chief executive given his continuing responsibilities.

Some clubs believe he could remain until the Federal budget in May.

And some clubs continue to question the costing around a new Tasmanian stadium, which could balloon well above the $750 million estimated cost.

Some presidents believe the costing could reach $1 billion.

No stadium, no team? Clubs are believed to agree with the AFL’s stance.

It’s also believed that the presidents have sided with the AFL in its mantra that no stadium means no footy team.

Clubs were also told their players and football departments needed to do more to promote the game, including making more players available for media requests.

The league is extremely bullish about record revenue, viewing numbers and crowds this year in excess of 2019 levels but believe everyone in football needs to help promote the game.

The league updated clubs on its progress towards a comprehensive hardship fund which would cater for past players battling serious neurological conditions.

It also touched on its continuing Hawthorn investigation and wagering relationships amid calls for the AFL to lessen its reliance on partnerships with sports betting companies.

Goyder has made clear that the AFL Commission, which has two vacant positions, will not fill them until after a new chief executive is hired by the league.

ROBBO: ‘INCONVENIENT TRUTH’ AFL WON’T CONFRONT

Mark Robinson

The AFL season will start in 10 days without a head of football, a position left vacant when Brad Scott departed in late September.

While the AFL is not fretting, club bosses are bewildered at how Australia’s biggest sport still hasn’t a football figurehead six months after Scott left to become coach of Essendon.

On Thursday, those same club bosses will grill the league at the annual meeting attended by club chief executives and presidents and league heavyweights, which is also the day of the season launch.

It’s a staggering state of affairs brought about because of the delay in naming Gill McLachlan’s replacement as chief executive, itself a saga that seems to have been running as long as Young and The Restless.

Brad Scott’s former position at the AFL still hasn’t been filled. Picture: Michael Klein

Now, clubs are restless.

The delay in replacing McLachlan is either a) it’s too close to call, b) they haven’t found the right candidate or c) AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder is allowing McLachlan his final days in the sun, which could see the Tasmanian team get the green light.

You know, the final deal, from the ultimate deal-maker.

It’s understood the AFL won’t appoint a head of football because the new CEO will have a major say — if not the say — on who fills football’s most senior position.

Andrew Dillon — who holds the longest title in footy: Executive General Manager of Football Operations, Legal Integrity and General Counsel — sits above the head of football role, but if Dillon replaces McLachlan, the league will need to find two senior executives — Dillon’s replacement and Scott’s replacement.

If all-rounder Dillon does not get the No. 1 job, he will likely remain in his role, leaving only Scott’s replacement to be found.

Why McLachlan’s position has not already been filled — he announced he was leaving in April last year — is a bone of contention among club bosses.

Gill McLachlan. Picture: Alex Coppel

They are not wanting to pick a fight with Goyder on Thursday, but they do want some clarity from the boss.

But they almost certainly won’t get an answer on the CEO from Goyder, because it’s believed yet another round of interviews with key figures are being conducted this week.

As stated, the league is not panicking.

It says Dillon, who is the head of everything, and Laura Kane, who is the general manager of competition management, are across the football activities.

Kane’s role was freed up somewhat because there was no AFLW competition held over the summer, and, the league says, football experience is prevalent in other key football positions held by Dan Richardson and Grant Williams.

Still, there’s no official head of football operations, which is an inconvenient truth just 10 days out from a new season.