AFL boss Andrew Dillon reflects on his first year in footy’s top job

Closing in on one year in the top job, AFL boss Andrew Dillon reveals plans to boost the capacity of a Victorian stadium, whether ball tracking will enter the men’s competition next year and more.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has vowed to further strengthen the league’s connection with its clubs next year as well as push for more growth in the men’s and women’s competitions.

Saturday night’s AFLW grand final will mark the end of Dillon’s first full year in the role, having completed a full men’s and women’s season since taking over from Gillon McLachlan in October last year.

“Footy’s in pretty good shape,” Dillon told the Herald Sun ahead of the North Melbourne-Brisbane Lions AFLW premiership playoff at IKON Park.

“Our crowds have been really high for the men’s, and we’ve got a solid base for the women’s, and I think the footy being played has been as good as it’s been in both competitions.

“That’s a credit to our clubs, our coaches and our players.

Andrew Dillon sat down with Glenn McFarlane to reflect on the 2024 season.

“We got the highest aggregate crowds for the men’s season (in 2024) but also the highest average per game. I still think there is some upside there with the closeness of the competition and with the style of football that is being played.”

Dillon said he had learnt so much in his first year in the CEO’s chair, despite having been a significant part of the AFL team since 2000.

“I would say that I am better now than I was 12 months ago, and I will be better in 12 months than I am now,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone is a finished product. I will continue to learn and get better, with the relationships, with talking to the media, and the things you have to do as CEO which are different to your previous roles.

“There are things that I can do better and I am certainly aware of that.

“What has become more stark is how important the relationships with the clubs are to the AFL. It was a focus for me coming into the role, and it is going to continue to be a focus going forward, making sure that the relationships are as good as they can be.

“We have a pretty robust relationship where people are prepared to have hard conversations and voice their views on things.

Dillon shares a toast with Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps. Picture: Michael Klein

He said former West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett, who is now working in an advisory role for the AFL, was currently meeting one-on-one with the club chief executives.

Dillon and AFL executive general manager Laura Kane will also continue to meet with the clubs to foster closer relationships.

“This was Laura’s first year in that EGM role and she did a great job and will get better with more experience,” he said. “To lead the competition in that footy role is probably up there with the toughest roles in the industry, and I think she did really well.”

The AFL spoke with former Magpies footy boss Graham Wright about potentially joining the league before he ultimately chose Carlton, where he will take over from Brian Cook as the Blues’ CEO at the end of next season.

Dillon said the AFL could add more experience to the football department in the future.

“We are always looking for people who can bring experience or a different view inside the industry or other parts of the AFL,” he said. “We are always looking to get better.”

Dillon with Katy Perry at the MCG.

Dillon said one of the AFL’s 2025 challenges would be boosting the game at a community level in western Sydney, which he hoped could also build a greater fan base for the Giants.

He attended a community meeting at the Gipps Road Sporting Complex on Thursday night with around 15 junior clubs from the western Sydney region.

“We have a lot of work to do in western Sydney … but I still see it as a massive opportunity,” Dillon said.

“They are doing it tough in terms of numbers because they had Covid and then 2022 was the wettest season on record and games were postponed or cancelled,” he said of junior participation in western Sydney.

“To see the passion and dedication of the junior club presidents and also from our AFL NSW team up there … It is a big challenge for us, but we are up for it.”

PLAN TO BOOST CROWD NUMBERS AT IKON

The AFL plans to boost IKON Park’s capacity to 15,000-plus next year as North Melbourne’s AFLW captain Emma Kearney gave the venue a big tick ahead of Saturday night’s sell-out grand final between North Melbourne and Brisbane Lions.

Dillon said he could one day envisage the AFLW grand final played at Marvel Stadium, but stressed it was best served at the moment at Carlton’s home base.

“IKON (Park) will be great, it’s a sell-out crowd and there is more work we can do at IKON to lift the capacity there,” he said.

Dillon on stage at the W Awards. Picture: Getty Images

This is the third year in a row in which the AFLW grand final has been sold-out, and the second straight for IKON Park.

A crowd of 12,616 attended last year’s grand final, where the Lions defeated the Kangaroos, but this year’s capacity is 12,500 for the AFLW’s primary Melbourne ground.

Kearney said she liked playing at smaller suburban venues such as IKON Park in terms of the atmosphere they can create.

“I quite like the smaller venues, but it’s something that we can look forward to in future years, potentially playing on larger venues,” Kearney said.

“(But) I don’t mind playing on grounds like IKON. (The game) being sold-out is really special, two times in a row is really good.

“I think the atmosphere that smaller grounds provide is really good. We played Brisbane up at their home ground (Springfield) in round 1, and it’s a great venue. I’m not sure what the crowd was there, but it’s a really nice buzz.”

Dillon said the AFL wanted to build on the investment it has made in AFLW since its inception.

“We will continue to work with the clubs and the players to make it as good as it can be,” he said.

“The game has got better year on year, the TV ratings have been really solid this year and we need to continue to make sure the game-day experience can be as good as it can, so we can get more people coming to the games to watch them live.”

North Melbourne and Brisbane will contest the AFLW grand final on Saturday. Picture: Michael Klein

The AFL announced recently the 2025 women’s competition will start just over a fortnight earlier than this year, with 12 rounds to be played across 12 weeks.

The controversial compressed fixture has been dumped, but the AFL has not ruled out playing midweek games.

“It (the 2025 season) does provide an opportunity where there will be more overlap of the men’s (home-and-away) competition, which means all of the teams will be operating at the same time,” Dillon said.

“What we learnt from the compression is that it was harder on the players, but we also learnt that in midweek footy we didn’t see a decrease in the crowds, and we saw an uplift in the broadcast (ratings). So you learn some things along the way.”

Smart-ball tracking technology won’t be used in the men’s competition next season. Picture: Getty Images

NO BALL TECH FOR MEN’S COMP IN 2025

The AFL has ruled out using smart-ball tracking technology to drive the “score assist” review system in the men’s 2025 season.

The smart-ball technology was introduced for the first time in this year’s AFLW season, but Dillon said this week more work was required before it could be expanded.

In late September the AFL confirmed the newly-introduced system had incorrectly overturned a crucial goal for Gold Coast in their three-point AFLW loss to Collingwood.

In that instance, the AFL put it down to human error, indicating the score assist official had not reviewed all available angles of the vision at the time of the decision.

“We have been really happy with the way it has gone in (AFL)W, but we want to continue to make sure it is as good as it can be before it goes any further,” Dillon said.

Dillon says the technology isn’t quite ready. Picture: Getty Images

The AFL boss also revealed the 18 AFL clubs would get a clearer picture by mid-2025 about the list and draft concessions that the Tasmanian Devils will be granted ahead of their inaugural season.

Asked if the 2028 Devils’ AFL entry remained on track, the AFL CEO said: “Yeah, absolutely … that is the timeline we are still working on.”

Brendon Gale will start as Tasmania’s first chief executive next year while Dillon said he expected more information and appointments would be fast-tracked in 2025.

He said the club’s concessions would be available to clubs “by mid next year at the latest”.

“I think there are some pillars we provided to the (existing) clubs as part of the business case for the licence and I think that is working out OK,” he said.

“What we would all want, and what Tasmania wants, and what the competition wants is a team that can be competitive from the start.”

He would not be drawn on whether former Sydney coach John Longmire could be a preferred candidate for the Devils’ senior coaching role.

But he said Longmire still had plenty left to achieve in football, with his executive director of club performance with the Swans as well as his elite, first-hand knowledge of football in New South Wales.

“He has an incredible record and has done so much for the game,” Dillon said of Longmire.

“There wouldn’t be a person in the industry who knows more about football in New South Wales at all levels. He is going to stay with the Swans next year and he has plenty to add there.

“But going forward, there are a multitude of roles that would be suitable to him, whether he wants to go back into senior coaching or other roles.”

Originally published as AFL boss Andrew Dillon reflects on his first year in footy’s top job