AFL chiefs ‘out of touch’ with football clubs

Collingwood president Jeff Browne has called for an overhaul of the AFL Commission, claiming a lack of commissioners with recent club experience is leading to a ‘disconnect’ between the teams and administrators.

Collingwood AFL club president Jeff Browne. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Collingwood president Jeff Browne has called for an overhaul of the Australian Football League Commission, claiming a lack of commissioners with recent club experience is leading to a “disconnect” between the teams and league administrators.

Mr Browne, the AFL’s external legal counsel for almost two decades and a former managing director of Channel 9, said he missed working with legendary former commissioners such as Peter Scanlan, Graeme Samuel, Ron Evans, John Kennedy, Bill Kelty and Colin Carter.

“It was an enormous privilege to be able to work with those types of people because of their experience, intellect and … love of footy,” he said in an interview with The Weekend Australian.

“I acknowledge the very successful business career of the AFL Commission chair (Richard Goyder) and his experience on the Fremantle club board, but I when I look elsewhere around the table, I would like to see some new people brought in to … support the chairman. People who have had more recent direct exposure to what happens in a football club. Some … current commissioners have (not) been in clubs (for) five or six years.”

While praising the appointment of long-serving AFL executive Andrew Dillon to succeed CEO Gillon McLachlan, Mr Browne said his concern about a lack of recent club experience extended to the executive ranks.

“Andrew Dillon is … a man of high integrity. I know I can always call him and have a sensible conversation with him,” he said.

“But in the administration, other than Travis Auld (AFL chief financial officer) I don’t think there’s anyone else who has been involved in an AFL club at a high or sustained level and I think that is leading to a disconnect between the clubs and the AFL.”

Mr Browne is one of the first club presidents to go public with concerns previously privately expressed to Mr Goyder about the commission’s lack of football expertise. A group of presidents who last year demanded a more influential role in commission appointments argued playing or club experience must be paramount in the selection process.

The commission usually has nine members, elected by the 18 AFL clubs. Mr Goyder last year said the AFL had appointed a headhunting firm to help fill two vacancies after the retirement of former West Coast and Sydney premiership player Jason Ball and ex-Foxtel executive Kim Williams, but no new appointments have been made.

Names mooted for the roles include AFL legend Leigh Matthews and retired modern-day greats Matthew Pavlich, Chris Judd and Joel Selwood.

Since early 2021 there have been only six commissioners alongside Mr Goyder and Mr McLachlan: private equity banker Robin Bishop, academic Professor Helen Milroy, venture capitalist Paul Bassat, former soldier Simone Wilkie, businessman and former Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold and former lawyer Gabrielle Trainor.

For the first time since the commission’s inception in 1985 there is no one with AFL playing experience at the board table. Mr Goyder’s predecessor was former Carlton premiership ruckman Mike Fitzpatrick.

Mr Browne praised the AFL for the process around the decision to admit a Tasmanian club, saying it showed the clubs and the League could work together.

“The AFL actually engaged the club presidents … A number of presidents were putting forward views questioning the business case and economics of it. There’s no question that emotionally it was very appealing. But in the last 10 years, there has been over $400m in variable additional funding paid to Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney. I support the need to expand in those areas but we couldn’t afford to have that happen again. While the AFL presented the business case for the club in Tasmania, their track record on business cases isn’t that good,” he said.

“But we had a hearing and to their credit, they opened themselves up for that. So I think that was a healthy process … I hope that in future, in significant decision-making, they do involve the clubs and take their … input.”