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Caroline Wilson breaks down Andrew Dillon's first two years as AFL CEO
Jaiden Sciberras • May 20th, 2025 7:30 pm
Award-winning journalist Caroline Wilson has broken down the AFL’s current state, two years on from the introduction of CEO Andrew Dillon.
From the current state of affairs, Laura Kane's role as EGM, decision making and the required changes, Wilson has explored all of the mishaps at the hands of Dillon and the AFL’s lack of true leadership.
Touching on the meeting between Dillon and select AFL coaches and potential commissioner replacements, the expert columnist spoke on all of the issues currently plaguing the AFL’s front office.
“The AFL, structurally, head office is a mess,” Wilson said on the Don’t Shoot the Messenger podcast.
“They would admit internally that they’ve had a really bad set of weeks.”
Laura Kane and the lack of a 'No.2'
“Andrew Dillon has an executive that involves the head of football, Laura Kane, who clubs are coming for at the moment, just coming for her.
“She has taken on a really wide portfolio, extra elements including AFLW which is losing millions of dollars every year, and has put a commercial person in charge of the AFLW when everyone things it should be a separate executive role.
“There’s human resources run by Sarah Fair. There have been some big decisions made in that area including the blocking of Brendon Gale, who many people thought when he didn’t get the top job, could have come on, would have been great to have him running in tandem as a senior number two to Andrew Dillon, to be over Laura Kane who is running football.
“There’s clearly some gender stuff going on here, but I do think that Laura Kane needs better people around her too. So, Brendon Gale didn’t come in, and 18 months down the track Andrew Dillon is still searching for a number two. The commission has let him know that he needs to, which diminishes his leadership as well.”
Internal decision making
“Game development, which is now receiving 10 per cent of all the AFL’s massive media revenue… I’m not sure that the right people are in charge there and I’m not sure that they’re doing nearly enough for multicultural and Indigenous pathways which is a real problem at the moment.
“There’s the legal counsel, who keep making these inadequate and inconsistent decisions. Noah Balta, Ken Hinkley, Jason McCartney (with the Tom Papley incident), Willie Rioli, so many mistakes and so much inconsistency.
“The umpiring… the umpires have never felt less supported and more disenfranchised from the game.
“Tanya Hosch, the diversity and inclusion boss. She’s being managed out, and there are massive ructions, threats, issues on both sides, it’s now become a highly sensitive legal situation.
“The media executive Brian Walsh is also on the way out. His job has been to shut everything down. We don’t hear from the AFL anymore, we don’t hear from Andrew Dillon.
“Why did Laura Kane do all these interviews in one week that came out so bland, and nothing was really said. Their front performance has been bad too.
“Without us really realising, one of Gillon McLachlan’s last deals was to sign away the free-to-air TV rights on a Saturday. For a lot of people, they can’t watch the footy on TV on a Saturday because they don’t have a subscription with Kayo or Fox Footy or wherever they’re living, it’s not available.
“It’s really upset a lot of people in football.
“All these mistakes culminating in the botched handling of Willie Rioli, and the text message threat to Bulldogs player Bailey Dale via another player that he wasn’t punished for, then he was after they claimed a pattern of behaviour came to light.
“A really poor handling of a racial issue.
“Then there was the issue with Lachie Schultz, the Collingwood player who was concussed. A media release came out the next day saying we should have stopped the game, but the umpires didn’t see the incident. Then we realised that they did know what was going on, so that was wrong.
“Five days later, three corrected press releases later, it was just highly embarrassing for Laura Kane and her team, who then had to apologise to the umpires for misrepresenting them.
“It’s amateur hour there at the moment.”
Coaches meeting
“I think those points were made in no uncertain terms to Andrew Dillon and Laura Kane for some of their misgivings by the four coaches they had dinner with on Monday night.
“There was Brad and Chris Scott, Alastair Clarkson and Simon Goodwin (in attendance). The coaches are really aggrieved at the moment because they feel so disrespected. Their wages were cut during COVID, and they’ve never been returned.
“The AFL deny that, but it’s true.
“The feeling is, they are not sure that Laura is quite taking some of the criticisms on board.”
Necessary changes
“In all these areas, Andrew is being too slow to act. He has a hands-off chairman in Richard Goyder, who has always been hands off, and who needs, frankly, to go.
“We need two new commissioners to come in, one of whom is going to be the new chairman because bizarrely, for the first time ever, since the commission has existed there has been no succession plan.
“What needs to happen is, new chairman, Andrew Dillon badly needs a strong number two, and I think it needs to be Tom Harley.
“Former AFL people need to stop making things even worse by being critical of what’s going on in there. Once you’re out, stay out.”
Commissioner candidates
“The presidents have all received a letter saying they want nominations. They’re paying an executive search firm, it’s crazy.
“They’re saying they want someone with football expertise, club expertise, corporate expertise, commercial expertise, blah blah blah.
“There are several that are being mentioned. Andrew Pridham, the Sydney Swans chairman, and David Koch, Port Adelaide chairman.
“David Koch has some support, but he also has his detractors. Andrew Pridham seems to have the support of the retired power brokers like Jeff Kennett and Jeff Browne.
“Jeff Browne hasn’t ruled out having a crack, and he’d be good too, but I’m not too sure if his current health situation would allow that.
“There’s obviously going to be others who are no longer chairmen. Peggy O’Neal, Craig Drummond from Geelong, Linda Dessau’s name has come up in despatches. They seem to be the names I’m hearing.
“I think Andrew Pridham would be a good call.
“The commission is just so slow to do anything. Everyone knew that Andrew Ireland should have come to the commission when he stepped down as Sydney Swans CEO. He’s a pioneer in the game. Ran Brisbane, they won a flag, went to Sydney, they won two flags.
“They just stagnated, and I don’t know why. For three years, there was no one who played the game sitting on the commission. Just a disaster.”
State of the game
“I love the game.
“That’s what they always say to me, but the game has never been better, and that is true.
“I think TV numbers are down because of this new deal. The crowds are great, they’ve made a few balls ups with the fixtures, but the crowds are really good, all of that is fine.
“I’m sorry, but there are other measures by which we judge the game. We judge the game by the fact that 10 years has passed sine Adam Goodes has been prepared to go to the Brownlow. To accept a nomination into the Hall of Fame. To go to the footy outside of Swans games occasionally.
“That’s how I judge the AFL. By the fact that Indigenous numbers have fallen over a five-year period alarmingly and are continuing to fall.
“The AFLW, losing millions of dollars and proving a real problem for the game, and the clubs are getting resentful - the male parts of those clubs – because they’re funding it.
“There are so many other measures, less people playing the game at junior levels, numbers in New South Wales, GWS and their crowds.
“There’s a lot of things that need fixing.”
Listen to Caro's breakdown below:
