Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Find your Sport Nation frequencyWatson: AFL “sadly lacking” an authoritative figure
SEN • May 16th, 2025 5:30 pm
Tim Watson has questioned whether or not the AFL has the required authoritative figure at the helm.
The leadership of the competition has been called into question in recent weeks through several blunders that have occurred.
The Willie Rioli saga and the Lachie Schultz incident have left many wondering if the current powers that be, including CEO Andrew Dillon and EGM Laura Kane.
V/AFL legend Watson says our game is “sadly lacking” a person with the authority that past CEOs Andrew Demetriou and Dillon McLachlan held.
“In terms of where the game is at right now, I am not confident that Andrew Dillon is capable of doing what needs to be done,” Watson pondered on SEN Breakfast.
“I don’t think he has that authoritative figure about him. You go back in time when we had (Andrew) Demetriou who was that authoritative figure in a different way to Gil. Gil represented the game in an authoritative way as well, they both had different styles.
“The shopfront of any business as big and as high-profile as the AFL, they need somebody eloquent and articulate and is able to sell a message, to defend the game and shape the narrative.
“No doubt Dillon is a smart bloke and he’s a good bloke too. He loves the game but he doesn’t have any presence. He doesn’t sell a message; he doesn’t defend a position of the game. He’s not believable in any way.
“Words matter; the presentation of an organisation matters more now than ever before. It’s broadly reported everywhere, it goes places it never once did.
“How much presence do people have to be able to be the voice of the game because we are sadly lacking in that position now.”
Watson firmly believes that Kane has also struggled to really find her feet in a key role.
“I don’t think she (Laura Kane) has been able to stamp her authority on the game either. We’ve seen her in fits and starts but she’s been hidden away,” he added.
“My reckoning of that is they put her out there and then they though, ‘Hang on a minute, I don’t know that she is the right person to be selling the strong messaging around the game.
“Do you agree with me that we e don’t have that authoritative figure right now?”
Lyon concurs with Watson, believing that right now is the time for the league’s leaders to stand up and be counted.
“There are different ways to lead, and we have been served by really strong, authoritative figures in the two guys (Demetriou and McLachlan) you spoke about prior,” Lyon said.
“I am in agreeance. I think this is a really critical time for the leadership group of this organisation.
“What happens when these things (Rioli and Schultz incidents) take place is the confidence gets eroded and that’s where it sits right now. It is an organisation no one cheers for, but you want to know it’s in good hands.
“I think Dillon is a really competent administrator, but in terms of leading, there’s an opportunity to stand up and put your stamp on it and say ‘enough’.”
Watson added: “Competency is one thing, strong leadership is something completely different again.”
Listen to Watson and Lyon’s discussion below:
