Four things the AFL’s new football supremo must do to fix the game

As difficult as it was for The Fonz to say “s ... s ... s ... s ... sor ... sorry” in TV’s Happy Days, some critics of the AFL might be equally reluctant to say “w ... w ... w ... wel ... well done” to the AFL on the appointment of Greg Swann.

But the league deserves plaudits for appointing Swann. He has an incredible track record wherever he has gone. Not only did he lead two of the biggest clubs in footy heartland – Carlton and Collingwood – but the job he did steering the turnaround of the Brisbane Lions was remarkable.

Greg Swann is the AFL’s new footy supremo.Credit: Photo: Getty Images/Artwork: Jamie Brown

The Lions today are a stable club, with healthy attendance at games, on-field success, elite training facilities, and are considered a destination club for many players. That’s a far cry from the position the club was in when Swann arrived in 2014.

Just like your columnist in his playing days, the AFL is never be accused of being fast. But Swann was lured to league headquarters just days after the role of head of football performance was created. The speed and quality of that appointment has been widely applauded, even by the league’s harshest critics.

But the AFL’s glacial response to a raft of issues needing serious attention has left a legacy. After taking nearly two years to appoint Andrew Dillon as CEO to replace Gillon McLachlan, the league has continued to lack urgency, particularly in the development of a new drugs policy, and addressing concerns about the football department soft cap.

Let’s hope the events of the past week herald an era of greater vigour and energy from the AFL, spearheaded by Swann, a man who is both pragmatic and decisive – just what they need at footy’s City Hall.

As he prepares to step into his new job next month, I, like many others, have some ideas on what his priorities should be. This is my to-do list for the AFL’s new footy supremo:

1. Fix the match review office

We can’t continue to have incidents that attract a penalty of either zero or three weeks – the discrepancy is too great and the system is a mess. That’s not the fault of the match review officer Michael Christian. All he can do is plug his findings into the matrix, and see what penalty it spits out.

It’s been clear for sometime that system is too rigid. There needs to be a distinction between football acts that happen in the course of players competing for the ball, and non-football acts. In fact, this should be the first consideration the MRO makes when assessing any incident. The clarity this would provide to players, clubs and fans would be immediate – many of their frustrations would automatically be alleviated.

What is a non-football act? Think of anything that players don’t spend their time training for. Punches, jumper punches, striking, off-the-ball acts, crude contact. Under my system, any act classified as non-football would automatically attract a minimum suspension of one game, with the sentence ramping up depending on how the act is assessed in terms of conduct, where the victim is impacted and the force of that impact. If a player punches an opponent, even his own teammates and supporters acknowledge in this day and age that their behaviour is unnecessary and deserves a suspension of at least one match.

What is a football act? Being cited for a football act would not necessarily protect a player from suspension, but would mean they benefit from an understanding of how difficult the game is to play. If a player injures an opponent accidentally, but within the laws of the game, the system has some discretion to deal with the specific circumstances. The difference would be that the penalties for football acts cited by the MRO would start as fines, ramping up depending on severity of the action and not just the outcome. Outcome and impact would still be considered but would not be the only determining factor. For any player found guilty by the MRO of more than one offence that is football act in a year, they would still be suspended. The message to them would be clear: “you need time away from the game to work on your technique”.

2. Improve communication, especially on rules and concussion

Greg, please talk to the fans and media. Bring us along for the ride, what do you want the game to be. You can make and change anything, but tell us why and where we are going. What is happening with the in-the-back rule? Is it now the case that if a player kicks the ball off the ground and it goes out of bounds, they have automatically conceded a free kick?

Do the rounds of all the platforms and answer the hot-button topics. Sure, your answers are not always going to be popular, but radio-silence isn’t the answer either.

When it comes to the vexed issue of concussion, we need to move faster into the solution phase.

Stop punishing the current-day players for past mismanagement and future legal actions. There are risks within the game and accidents will happen. All participants accept that.

Previous rule changes have primarily mitigated many of the risks, which everyone agrees is a positive. Player welfare, care, concussion policies and insurance, preventive exercise, treatments and technologies need to be tapped into for solutions. Again, stand up and tell us where the AFL wants to go with the game and what they want it to look like.

AFL umpires walk onto the MCG.Credit: AFL Photos

3. Back the umpires

The umpires deserve better support; it is an incredibly difficult sport to officiate.

They need a proper training base, and we need to find ways to keep the best decision-makers in umpiring. You shouldn’t need to be capable of running an Olympic B qualifying time in the 10-kilometre time trial to be eligible to umpire our sport. We need people who are fit enough and competent.

There’s also no harm in admitting when the umpires make an error – they happen. Admit them and work to be better next time.

Attracting more umpires to the game is a challenge. The least we can do to make the job more appealing is get them their own proper training base.

4. Be decisive

Back to the issue of speed again; the clubs I have spoken to are reasonably happy with the communication they get from the AFL. Where they get frustrated is the lack of prompt action.

It’s no wonder many coaches and officials have started turning their vigour towards the AFL any time a microphone is thrust in front of them. Everyone else in the game has had a pay rise since COVID, but not the football departments of the clubs.

The game needs former players aspiring to share their experience and expertise when their careers end. Coaching should be an attractive career proposition for them. But there’s been a lack of action to fix the spending cap on football departments, and the communication from the AFL has not been followed through. So, who can blame the clubs for venting their frustrations?

There you go, Greg. A quick to-do list for when you start your new job. But they’re just a few priorities. Let’s not forget we’re supposed to be introducing a Tasmanian team to the league. There are list concessions, salary caps and next-generation academies to iron out, we need a serious discussion about the mid-season draft, and the father-son rules need to be tidied up.

All that while you steer the direction of our great game. It’s a big job, but a great opportunity and you’re well-equipped for it; just the person the AFL needs.

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