General footy chat New AFL CEO

[Maltopia]

Have we swapped one dill for another?

[Roadrunner]

Have we swapped one dill for another?

A dill for a Gill?
Weird how they scouted far and wide and presumably spent a few bob, only to come up with a bloke right under their noses- bunch of dopes……….????

[barry]

Its unusual for someone from the legal side of the business to be promoted to CEO. Usually comes up from operations.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Lawyers inveigle themselves everywhere, it's a pretty clear sign a company is moribund when an accountant or a lawyer gets the top job.

[KSAS]

Personally, I have always preferred the AFL CEO to have hands on footy experience at various levels rather than appointing an existing CEO from the Corporate world. Doesn't mean either will or cannot respectively make a good AFL CEO, but having a footy background is an advantage imo.

Andrew Dillion well & truly ticks all the boxes in this regard, including at grass roots level which the AFL at times have overlooked. Which makes it strange as many have already pointed out, why the AFL commission spent $1m & 12 months to finally appoint someone from under their very noses? No objection looking externally as part of it's process, but the cost & time doing so is questionable.

Andrew Dillion has given me first early impression that he is willing to give an opinion & make a decision, rather than sit on the fence which how Gill mostly operated. Got this impression when Andrew was asked about the starting time for GF on AFL360 last night. He responded directly with 2:30pm which will remain. Everyone might not be happy with this decision, but at least he did so promptly.

The other box which I would like an AFL CEO to have ticked, is coming from a non Victorian state with high level AFL experience which helps them to have a better national perspective for the competition. This is against being influenced by the strong Vic bias. Which is why I was hoping for Tom Harley in the bigger picture even though he would be a great loss for us. (Gill originally came from SA but not before cutting his AFL experience in Vic).

Latest example was highlighted on Footy Classified last night when Caro reported the AFL is again under spending on the development of NSW footy, based on population size. NSW currently makes up 1/3 of Australia's population and both Sydney clubs feel current AFL spending is poorly under represented.

[707]

Dillon has high and wide praise, looks a very good appointment despite it being yet another in house appointment.

Bigger problem is the AFL Commission.

[KTigers]

Yes, it's not a good look when the bloke has been there the whole time. He has probably always been the fall-back position while
they looked for someone they thought might be better. When they didn't find that person, they reverted back to this new bloke.
And he (the new bloke) will know that's what they were doing. The AFL is not a regular business. They don't strictly have to make
money. They don't have shareholders demanding dividends. They don't close down perenially unprofitable parts of the operation
(about half the clubs). They are more like a quasi NGO. Most of their money comes from private sources but the good old taxpayer
kicks in a fair bit too (the Tassy stadium for inst). They are provided the largesse that comes from being deemed Too Big To Fail.

[Maltopia]

A dill for a Gill?
Weird how they scouted far and wide and presumably spent a few bob, only to come up with a bloke right under their noses- bunch of dopes……….????

My dill references was to Gill having the pejorative nickname with some of “Gill the Dill” and now we have a Dill(on) replacement.

Damien Barrett said Dillon’s appointment makes sense for a lot of reasons including that he knows there the bodies are buried!

[BRS328]

KSAS,

I agree with everything you have said here, but I would like to add one more critical issue that needs addressing, and that is player retention for the non football states.

It still remains far too easy for the southern states using the go home factor, to continually poach players from the northern states. You only have to look at the Giants and Gold Coast as examples, but it is naive to think that the Swans and Brisbane immune to overtures from the south. Both clubs ( Swans and Brisbane) have both suffered over the journey and in a number of cases have had to pay over the odds in order to retain key players, and both will remain vulnerable in the future. Cost of living is a real life factor.

[Blood Fever]

Yes, it's not a good look when the bloke has been there the whole time. He has probably always been the fall-back position while
they looked for someone they thought might be better. When they didn't find that person, they reverted back to this new bloke.
And he (the new bloke) will know that's what they were doing. The AFL is not a regular business. They don't strictly have to make
money. They don't have shareholders demanding dividends. They don't close down perenially unprofitable parts of the operation
(about half the clubs). They are more like a quasi NGO. Most of their money comes from private sources but the good old taxpayer
kicks in a fair bit too (the Tassy stadium for inst). They are provided the largesse that comes from being deemed Too Big To Fail.

Melbourne Boys Club strikes again. Hard to gain membership.

[KTigers]

Melbourne Boys Club strikes again. Hard to gain membership.

I wouldn't bother man. Because another version of them has invited them in and given them access to the till they start paying
themselves all these big numbers, that they then equate with actually being good at something, which they are mostly not. This
stuff goes on everywhere and is partially responsible for the creation of that uniquely Australian species, the cashed up bogan.
Unfortunately it doesn't end there and some of them feel other people want to hear what they have to say and they land
themselves another well-paying gig in the media and that emboldens them further. There is a snowballing effect. It's not pretty.

[Vonsteinman]

Now I’m not saying he’s the right bloke (I genuinely wouldn’t know) but I find it interesting that there’s a large amount of criticism directed towards the league for conducting a broad search before opting for Dillon. Had they just appointed him without putting it out there, the criticism would have been deafening.

Might be worth giving the bloke ago before firing too many shots…

[Blood Fever]

Now I’m not saying he’s the right bloke (I genuinely wouldn’t know) but I find it interesting that there’s a large amount of criticism directed towards the league for conducting a broad search before opting for Dillon. Had they just appointed him without putting it out there, the criticism would have been deafening.

Might be worth giving the bloke ago before firing too many shots…

Not saying he isn't bright and competent

[barry]

I wouldn't mind seeing a master plan or something.

I heard that they have learnt from the mistakes of GWS and GC, and will not build a team from draft concessions, but rather trade in somehow.
Ironically the GWS/GC draft route was devised because previous attempts like the Brisbane bears didn't work with a trade in model.
In my opinion the draft way worked pretty well.

- - - Updated - - -

I wouldn't mind seeing a master plan or something.

I heard that they have learnt from the mistakes of GWS and GC, and will not build a team from draft concessions, but rather trade in somehow.
Ironically the GWS/GC draft route was devised because previous attempts like the Brisbane bears didn't work with a trade in model.
In my opinion the draft way worked pretty well.

(For Tassie)

[Vonsteinman]

Not saying he isn't bright and competent

I’m not saying that is what you’re saying BF, in fact I’m not targeting any one poster in particular.

Don’t get me wrong, my blood boils as much as most on here when it seems that decisions are made that are in the best interests of Vic or ‘traditional footy state’ clubs.

But there’s been plenty of chatter on social media about the Boys Club and Andrew being an Old Xaverian, links to Lethlean, etc. Then there’s lots of Swans fans spruiking Tom Harley as a good option due to his Swans experience. I wonder if Harley spruikers realise that Tom and Gillon both attended the same private school in Adelaide?