AFL News 2022: Gillon McLachlan in isolation after being diagnosed with Covid
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan is in isolation after being diagnosed with Covid. But he’s opened up on what could be next as he enters the final phase of his leadership.
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AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has tested positive to Covid but says he will continue working as he enters the final phase of his leadership.
After announcing his resignation on Tuesday, McLachlan said he felt fine despite contracting the virus and would not be taking time off.
“I woke up with a sore throat this morning and yeah, it got me,” McLachlan told 3AW on Friday.
The league boss said he would not entertain any job offers until he had left the role.
“That’s all ahead of me … you certainly can’t speak to anyone while you’re in the role so I haven’t really done that, there’s all of that to play out as well,” he said.
“I’d like to take a break at the end, that’s certainly the counsel I’ve been given from others in my situation.”
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McLachlan said the looming new TV rights agreement was firmly on his mind.
“The broadcast deal is an important thing to get done this year, no doubt about that. It’s important for our game,” he said.
“I think the game is in a really good position – I’ve had my go – it’ll be for others to judge where that is and there will be someone else to take it forward and put their stamp on it.”
McLachlan said he would let others determine where he may have made mistakes as CEO.
“I don’t have any regrets… I have a great team of people that has always put the game first.
“This game is so important to so many people. You’re a lucky person to have that role, to be able to exert a small amount of influence on something that has had such an impact.”
The pandemic and the “great resignation” associated with it were not factors in McLachlan’s decision to depart, he said.
“I don’t believe that this moment is because of Covid, I think nine years is a long time. “Maybe those thoughts have been exacerbated by Covid but it wasn’t the reason for the decision.”
He said a key wish was for his two expansion sides, GWS and Gold Coast, to fully assert themselves in their local markets.
“I’m very optimistic that (the AFL) will be truly national in that in Queensland and NSW our market share will be much closer to where it is in the south.
“And I’m optimistic that right across the board that it will be a game for women in every sense as much as it is for men.”
BRUTAL TRUTH LAID BARE FOR GILL REPLACEMENT
- Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane
Former AFL chief executive Wayne Jackson has warned of the bruising toll the position takes as a host of contenders consider applying for the nation’s most high profile sporting job.
Jackson said he had no doubt a woman could do the job for the first time as the league considers its fifth AFL chief executive after Ross Oakley, Jackson, Andrew Demetriou and Gillon McLachlan.
AFL legal and football boss Andrew Dillon is yet to be convinced he should make a play for the role after spending 20 years at AFL House in a host of hugely important backroom positions.
Demetriou revealed in the Herald Sun’s Sacked podcast police investigated death threats over the Essendon saga, while Oakley had police guards outside his house for three months over similar issues as the league considered merging clubs.
Jackson’s successful seven-year tenure saw the league move from Waverley to what is now Marvel Stadium, a decision that ultimately helped save footy when the league used it as collateral to borrow money through Covid.
He told the Herald Sun anyone up for the task had to make sure they were ready for what it took out of them.
“It’s absolutely right that you need total commitment for you and your family, You really need to want to do it. You cop it on the way through and you have got to want to put up with that,” he said.
“You have got to really enjoy the game. Abuse may be too strong a word, but people were very angry about the sale of Waverley, for example. And a lot of people couldn’t see the merit in it. They ridiculed us about putting a roof on a stadium and we were pushing into Tasmania and Darwin and the northern states and trying to get into the Olympic station and they were very cross with the sale of Waverley.
“What was then Colonial Stadium proved to be a godsend but we copped a lot of flak.”
Jackson backed the AFL Commission to choose the right candidate but said that person must have a national view rather than going back to old VFL-style tropes.
“The single most important issue with whoever might take over from Gill is they are a nationalist. I know I am South Australian but I drove a national agenda and the last thing we want is for there to be an overemphasis on the home of football, which is Melbourne.
“We have to have a national approach and not be overly influenced by what happens in Melbourne. That is critical for the development of the game.”
He believes the 19th licence is a fait accompli and even suggested a 20th AFL team could help the league introduce conferences where teams played up to 27 AFL games.
“I think we are past the point of no return (on Tasmania). The absolute clincher will be a stadium with a roof on it in Hobart. If we get a stadium there and demonstrate the financial viability I think it’s just about all over.
“I have not seen anyone talk about conferences with 20 teams. If we had 20 teams you could split up one conference with the Eagles and Power and Carlton and Sydney and the other with Fremantle and Adelaide.
“You play each team in your conference twice and play the teams in the other conference once and that’s 27 games. It’s not that far away from where we are now. I think it’s strategically something the AFL should consider in due course.”
AFL PAY DISPUTE A DAUNTING TASK FOR NEW CEO
As Melbourne-based consultant Bruce Williamson, for executive search firm Spencer Stuart, begins the search for Gillon McLachlan’s replacement, Glenn McFarlane looks at five key issues the AFL’s next CEO must address.
TACKLING CONCUSSION HEAD ON
Ask anyone involved at any level of the game and they will tell you concussion is the most important issue in the game. It is a multi-layered concern that takes in the past, the present and the future. The AFL and the various football bodies must ensure it has the best and most current information and expertise to protect players’ heads at every level, The welfare of past players remains a significant concern, as evidenced by CTE findings of several former footballers including Danny Frawley and Shane Tuck, as well as John Barnes’ recent claim that hundreds of others are still suffering in silence. The need to protect the head at AFL level could yet require further rule changes or greater match review/tribunal clarity. Protecting footballers at junior and community level remains critical in protecting high participation rates.
MAKING TASSIE COMPETITIVE FROM THE START
Let’s just take it as a given that Tasmania should get the green light as the 19th AFL franchise before McLachlan leaves the building later this year. But what the next CEO needs to do is ensure the Tassie Devils – or whatever the new team is called – will be competitive and self-sufficient (with Government support) from the outset. A model must be set up with the right coach, the right support staff, the right facilities and the right access to players to ensure they hit the ground running within five years. We cannot have a situation where the Tassie team doesn’t play finals in the first decade, like the Gold Coast Suns.
REBUILDING COMMUNITY FOOTY
Two seasons wrecked by Covid have played havoc with mens, womens and junior community footy programs and the AFL knows it must address this aspect of the game going forward. The league has already announced some new initiatives to bolster the game at grassroots level but there must be more. Many local clubs are doing it exceptionally tough, with the need for more volunteers, more venues and more assistance paramount. Across the country the code needs an oval a week every week for the next five years to ensure the forecast growth of people playing the game.
A BETTER SHARE OF REVENUE BETWEEN AFL AND AFLW
While McLachlan will look at securing the next CBA for the AFL mens’ and AFL womens’ competition before he takes on his next challenge, working out a better pay split between the two competitions will be a critical part of the next CEO’s brief. The AFL has committed to having AFLW players as the best paid professional domestic league sport in the country by 2030. But the AFLPA has a vision of making AFLW as a full-time professional job by 2026, with the prospect of a future joint CBA among many items for future discussion. It’s time to get to work on this.
KEEPING THE FANS HAPPY
The task of keeping the game as affordable to fans, as visually attractive as possible, and highly competitive where supporters believe their team can win on any given day must always remain at the heart of the AFL’s future plans. The return of crowds post-pandemic has been solid but needs to grow in the coming years. The aim must be to continue to make the fans’ footy experience as affordable, enjoyable and entertaining as possible. Price freezes have helped, but the more the AFL can continue to do to make the game fan-friendly the better. This might revolve around fewer rule changes in the future, maintaining the Grand Final in its traditional timeslot and boosting the experience for those attending games.
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