Andrew Demetriou, Gillon McLachlan and the most powerful AFL figures this century

Tax-exempt and answerable to no-one, the AFL has wielded unrivalled power and influence over Australia’s sporting landscape this century. But who is the true top dog?

Few were more scathing of the suits that ruled the AFL after the turn of the century than veteran litigator Steven Amendola.

“They looked to behave like a bunch of cashed-up bogans who thought they could do what they wanted,” Amendola famously declared of the game’s administration at the height of the Essendon drugs debacle.

Tax-exempt and answerable to no-one, the world governing body of itself, the AFL under chief executive Andrew Demetriou and later Gillon McLachlan – ranked No. 1 and 2 in the Code Sports’ top 25 footy powerbrokers of the century – wielded unrivalled power and influence over Australia’s sporting landscape.

Gillon McLachlan, right, with prime minister Anthony Albanese, Mark McGowan and Richard Goyder Optus Stadium. Picture: Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The late Victorian premier John Cain, a long-time member of the MCG Trust, once said the state had never known an entity with as much power as the modern day AFL.

“They choose their own successors, that’s always a danger, in any field of endeavour, because you tend to choose people who will perpetuate what you’ve done,” Cain said before his death in 2019.

Rivers of gold flowed into AFL HQ thanks to mammoth TV and commercial deals and sky high ratings and club memberships.Australian Council of Trades Union secretary turned AFL commissioner Bill Kelty rightfully acknowledges that it was Demetriou who lifted the league with “the most significant set of commercial decisions in the history of the game”.

THE FULL LIST: SEE THE FULL RANKINGS OF FOOTY’S TRUE KINGMAKERS

Who makes the top 25 AFL powerbrokers of the 21st century?

THE TOP 5

1. Andrew Demetriou

AFL CEO (2003-2014)

The most dominant football figure of the century, Demetriou ruled the league with an iron fist for more than a decade, rarely buckling on a position.

2. Gillon McLachlan

AFL CEO (2014-2023)

Demetriou’s anointed in-house successor led with the same take-no-prisoners approach. Lauded as a master commercial deal-maker who brought in the mega bucks through massive TV and sponsorship contracts.

3. Eddie McGuire

Collingwood president (1998-2021)

Eddie was indeed everywhere this century. A club president with massive platforms on television and radio whose vision and connections made Collingwood the biggest club in the land.

4. Richard Colless

Sydney Swans president (1993-2013)

Transformed the game’s most important franchise in NRL heartland from an object of ridicule into a powerhouse club.

5. Ron Evans

AFL Commission chairman (1998-2007)

Ran the powerful league commission juggling one of the game’s most brazen conflicts of interests as managing director of catering giant Spotless. Smart and tough, but fair in his dealings with clubs.

READ THE LIST AND FULL DETAIL ON THE TOP 25 HERE

Originally published as Andrew Demetriou, Gillon McLachlan and the most powerful AFL figures this century