AFL’s toxic culture: Sleazy ‘Top 10’ list ranked women by looks

THE AFL affairs scandal has deepened amid revelations some men at the league’s headquarters created a “Top 10” list of ­female staff they wanted to have sex with.

Kurtley Beale with girlfriend Maddi Blomberg.

• Lethlean’s finals frolics stun colleagues
• AFL execs may get ‘another chance’
• Robbo: Losing job least of Lethlean’s worries
• Moral high ground has its pitfalls

A TOXIC AFL culture has been exposed, with revelations some men in the office created a “Top 10” list of female employees they wanted to sleep with.

The Sunday Herald Sun has confirmed a woman was told of her ranking on the wish list of males at AFL House.

She was told: “You’re number five on the list.”

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan yesterday said he was confident the two executives who quit over affairs would find jobs in football.

“I know the industry is forgiving. They are high-quality people and unbelievable executives,” he said on SEN.

“I feel confident they’ll get another chance.”

AFL SEX SCANDAL: RICHARD SIMKISS GOSSIP TRICKLE TURNS INTO FLOOD

Kurtley Beale with girlfriend Maddi Blomberg

Richard Simkiss AFL general manager of commercial

Simon Lethlean. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian

Later he told 3AW: “They’re both high-performing executives who have worked through the ranks because they have delivered.”

Football operations manager Simon Lethlean quit following an affair with young Auskick staffer Maddi Blomberg, girlfriend of rugby union star Kurtley Beale.

Commercial manager Richard Simkiss resigned over his relationship with young AFL legal counsel Ali Gronow.

The married men both apologised for their actions and have been focusing on their families.

The Sunday Herald Sun understands Lethlean, who was reportedly paid $900,000 a year, is likely to find a job at an AFL club.

Simkiss has a wide business network through his role at the AFL for more than a decade.

The resignations this week came after the Herald Sun reported details of an affair on Monday.

But concerns remain about the culture within the AFL, despite the strong stance taken on Lethlean and Simkiss.

As well as the “Top 10” list, a current male employee at the league’s Docklands headquarters has been dubbed the “King of Tinder” by female employees.

The “Top 10” list was circulating several years ago, but sources within the AFL said they were worried the culture had not changed enough.

However, other female AFL employees told the Sunday Herald Sun they had no issues working at the league.

AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan. Picture: AAP Image/Joe Castro

Ali Gronow

Maddi Blomberg. Picture: Christian Gilles

The AFL did not respond yesterday to questions about the “Top 10” list or the “King of Tinder”.

McLachlan did the rounds of the radio stations yesterday, spending about an hour on air candidly answering question after question about the affairs. It is believed he has been left personally shattered by the scandal, which cost the careers of two friends. He addressed claims that a third AFL executive may have had an inappropriate relationship.

“There’s a lot of different things swirling, there’s nothing that I know that worries me,” he said.

McLachlan said yesterday he first became aware of claims of one affair after the Herald Sun put questions in writing in June.

The matter was sent to human resources, but the timeline of when that happened was unclear.

It was only this week after the Herald Sun reported details of the affairs that he became fully aware of the facts.

McLachlan said he would look at whether a new code of conduct for treatment of women should be considered as a result of the incidents.

But he stood by his decision to accept his friends’ resignations, which was done after consultation with AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder and the AFL board.

“You can’t walk around it when there’s stuff that is actually a clear breach,” McLachlan said. “Two men have made mistakes and when you look at all of the circumstances and facts, they’ve said ‘I can’t continue to work for this organisation and I put my hand up’.

“I don’t look at them in any different way.

“They are friends of mine who’ve been outstanding executives who made a mistake and they are working on their marriages. If they account for this in the right way, their histories and their behaviours going forward will repair everything.”

[e-mail]