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The AFL’s powerbrokers
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The AFL’s powerbrokers

Every AFL club has a network of influencers who make things happen through their wealth, fame or political connections. This is our series on the people who have shaped their footy teams in the modern era.

5 stories
Rebecca Maddern, former premiers Ted Baillieu and Steve Bracks, Cotton On founder Nigel Austin, and deputy PM Richard Marles.
AFL club powerbrokers

Cotton On dropped $1 million on a luxe Geelong corporate box. Some say they have a better view than the coach

Every AFL club has wealthy, influential or famous people working behind the scenes to boost their team. We go inside the corporate boxes at Geelong.

  • by Danny Russell
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Collingwood influencers Paul Licuria (front left), Jodie Sizer , Eddie McGuire, Jordan De Goey (back left), and Sally Capp.
AFL club powerbrokers

‘Never talked about this’: The power struggle that moved a Collingwood great to tears

Money is not a pressing concern for Collingwood, but the Magpies have grappled with a more destructive force.

  • by Stephen Brook
Ian Dicker, Jeff Kennett, Jason Dunstall and Hawks powerbrokers

The Hawks were ‘close to death’. These are the people who brought them back from the brink

Petty politics have been set side as the Hawks prepare to move to their new training base, the Kennedy Community Centre, at Dingley in Melbourne’s south-east.

  • by Peter Ryan
Richmond powerbrokers (clockwise from bottom left): Former Macquarie bank executive Nick O’Kane, club president John O’Rourke, former businessman and president Alan Bond, and No.1 male and female ticket holders Mark Nelson and Evelyn Danos.
AFL club powerbrokers

They’re the richest, most powerful Tigers supporters. But you wouldn’t know it

Every AFL club has a network of influencers who make things happen through their wealth, fame or political connections. In the fourth instalment of a series on AFL powerbrokers, we go inside the fundraising dinners among Richmond’s elite, and how a brush with Alan Bond in the ’80s changed them forever.

  • by Michael Gleeson
St Kilda powerbrokers Gerry Ryan, president Andrew Bassat and Lindsay Fox, who celebrated his birthday aboard the Seabourn Quest.
AFL club powerbrokers

A multimillionaire who calls the coach in his hour of need: Inside St Kilda’s network of rich-listers and celebs

The Saints have no shortage of wealthy and celebrity supporters. This is how they roll.

  • by Sam McClure

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/afl/the-afl-s-powerbrokers-20250423-p5ltn4.html