Opinion: Ashley Browne

What I’m thinking

with Ashley Browne

For the love of the game

Gillon McLachlan’s replacement must be a passionate footy person as well as a competent leader.

When the National Rugby League came hard for Gillon McLachlan to become its new chief executive in 2012, he sat down with then AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou for guidance as to what to do.

By that stage McLachlan was the clear No. 2 at the AFL, but while he was the presumptive favourite to one day replace Demetriou, there were no guarantees, so his chance to run another of Australia’s biggest sports was sorely tempting.

But as they threw around the pros and cons, Demetriou posed the question to McLachlan – what would he do on a rare weekend off in the middle of winter?

In football-mad Melbourne, McLachlan – at least before he became the father of four young children – could often be found watching his beloved University Blues, or indeed any game of local footy close to home.

Footy wasn’t just his job, it was his passion, and as Demetriou pointed out, he wouldn’t be able to do that in Sydney.

There would be no standing in front of The Pavilion with his mates watching Uni Blues. He’d have to stumble across a game of rugby league instead.

Shortly afterwards, McLachlan ruled himself out of contention.

There is a fair bit that goes with sitting in the biggest chair of all at AFL House.

The interests of staff, players, coaches, clubs, sponsors, governments, stadia, media and fans need to be considered and juggled all the time.

The hours and the demands are punishing. There are few more high-profile positions in Australian public life.

But you can run a car factory without loving cars. Plenty of cooks barely switch on a stove when they’re at home. But being the boss of the AFL is another matter. You have to be in love with the core business.

And McLachlan ticked that box. No matter what meaty issues came across his desk, his interest in what was happening on the field never waned.

He knew the players and how the game was played and he had opinions. He loves a debate about who is the best forward in the AFL as much as anyone.

And refreshingly for a senior AFL figure, he followed a team – St Kilda – and he didn’t shy away from it.

Imagine if the Saints went on a 2021 Melbourne-like run and came from the clouds this year to make the Grand Final in what shapes as his final day at the AFL.At 4-1, they’re off to a flyer.

McLachlan was always likely to be Demetriou’s replacement back in 2014, as was Demetriou when Wayne Jackson stepped down in 2003. Jackson himself was an AFL Commissioner in late 1996 and had one foot in the door when Ross Oakley decided to move on.

But the beauty and the intrigue of this search for a new AFL chief executive is that it is a wide-open field.

MORE THAN A JOB:

Outgoing CEO Gillon McLachlan is a footy fan at heart; Richmond CEO Brendon Gale (below) has strong support at club level.

You have to be in love with the core business

Travis Auld and Andrew Dillon shape as the leading internal candidates. They’ll be particularly hands on with the extensive list of items McLachlan needs to tick off before he finishes up, including the new CBA and media rights deal, a revised club funding model, the next AFL season and perhaps even the vote for a Tasmanian deal.

Does this put Auld and Dillon in the box seat? Possibly. Long-time McLachlan confidante Dillon might yet need some coaxing to throw his hat into the ring.

And don’t discount Kylie Rogers, the AFL’s commercial boss, who has significantly grown the game’s revenue and sponsorship base during a global pandemic.

The search for the new CEO might also be the stage for an overdue club versus head office battle.

Brendon Gale, the architect of Richmond’s rise to power, has all the makings of an excellent AFL CEO and would appear to have strong support at club level, although a report last weekend suggested that Suns chairman Tony Cochrane felt Gale would be too aligned with the Victorian clubs. Given that Gale is as Tasmanian as a stubby of Boag’s, that’s a strange call.

MCG boss Stuart Fox and Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler have also been floated as candidates and deserve strong consideration.

But if I was in the room for the interview, I’d want to know they have that deep-seated love for the game – not just the League – that McLachlan has.

If his or her idea of a great day off is to lean over the fence of any ground in the country and watch a game of local footy, then that’s a gigantic tick from me.