The key candidates to join the commission are Jeff Browne, Craig Drummond and David Koch. Browne (Collingwood) and Drummond (Geelong) are former club presidents who presided over premierships and Koch has overseen the resurrection of Port Adelaide since he took over with the strong support of the AFL in 2012. Browne, the former long-time AFL general counsel, brings strong media credentials at a time when that landscape looks unpredictable.
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Although both Eddie McGuire and investment banker and former Australian Sports Commission chairman John Wylie have been floated as candidates, neither has been contacted by the AFL’s global recruiters Spencer Stuart, and they are not expected to be interviewed.
Neither, contrary to recent reports, is former Bulldogs chairman Peter Gordon in the running for a commission role.
“I’ve had a number of approaches from people about commission-related things in the past few months,” Gordon said.
“But I’ve had no official approach, have made no application and I’m not even aware there is a forthcoming commission vacancy.
“If they approached me, I’d consider it.”
Former commissioner and ex-governor of Victoria Linda Dessau is also not expected to be a candidate in what is emerging as less a power struggle between the three candidates, but between the key club presidents and Goyder.
Three commissioners, Goyder, leading businessman and company director Paul Bassat and retired army officer Simone Wilkie, are coming to the end of their terms.
Only Bassat, a key Goyder supporter, looks certain not to seek another term. Wilkie’s position remains unclear, but she appears to have support to stay on and continue her role as the commissioner in charge of the challenging AFLW competition.
Both Goyder and Wilkie sit on the nominations committee alongside a third commissioner, Andrew Ireland. The club representatives are Andrew Bassat (Paul’s brother, St Kilda), Hood (North), former South Australian premier John Olsen (Adelaide), Andrew Pridham (Sydney) and Andrew Wellington (Brisbane Lions).
Goyder resisted a move by the presidents early this year to remove him as chairman of the nominations committee.
Pridham was seen as a commission chairman candidate and had some support among the clubs but chose not to nominate and has reaffirmed his commitment to the Swans following the appointment of his CEO Tom Harley to the role of Andrew Dillon’s deputy at the AFL.
Andrew Dillon and his new football supremo Greg Swann.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Attempts by some in AFL circles to frame Browne as a stalking horse for Pridham, due to their friendship and strong business connections, have been firmly shut down by Browne’s supporters.
Not only have the clubs been frustrated by the lack of clarity and the slow-moving process, but primarily at Goyder’s failure to put in place a commission succession plan during his almost decade-long reign as chairman. Not one of his eight fellow commissioners have shown any keen interest or been strongly encouraged to consider replacing Goyder. This has never occurred before in the history of the commission.
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Of the key candidates, all have support in certain club and commission circles, but Browne appears to be the leading contender. Whether he would be prepared to serve on the commission for two to three years before becoming chairman is unclear. Goyder supporters insist that he is unlikely to serve the full three years of his next term as chairman, which would extend his time at the helm of the game until the start of 2029.
While the clubs’ mutinous angst against the AFL has been alleviated following the recent popular appointments of Harley and Greg Swann, who took over as football boss this week, the presidents remain determined to have a bigger say in the selection of the game’s governors.
While they remain divided on equalisation measures and key issues, notably including the northern academies and the father-son rule, they are united in pushing for better governance at commission level including a more professional process for selecting those governors.
