‘Teething problems’, or something untenable? Behind the brewing tensions at AFL House

3 months ago 5

Tensions between the AFL’s two key football lieutenants Greg Swann and Laura Kane have threatened to destabilise Andrew Dillon’s senior team just months into his controversial restructure at head office.

Dillon has been forced to step in to clarify the football roles after weeks of confusion had begun to raise eyebrows both at club and AFL staff level.

AFL executives Greg Swann, Andrew Dillon and Laura Kane at the Brownlow.

Issues ranging from people being caught off guard by Kane’s non-appearance at the VFL grand final, which she was scheduled to host, to clubs’ pre-season training dates, to the chain of reporting duties of disenchanted football staff seeking leadership and direction finally caught Dillon’s attention over the past fortnight.

While some senior staff laughed it off as trivial, three AFL officials contacted by this masthead confirmed there was even some low-level confusion regarding whether Swann would read out the names of the 2025 draftees on the second night of this month’s men’s draft, or whether Kane would call them out as she did on night two of last year’s draft in her previous, bigger role.

Swann ultimately read out the names while Kane flew to Sydney where she spent several days attending a conference of AFL medicos about the implications for their role of the legal fallout from concussion.

Dillon met Kane this week to specify her role would remain at the helm of football at match day operational level across the AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW. Although Kane previously retained some control over umpiring, the match review officer and AFL tribunal, due to Swann’s arrival at head office in late July, she will now relinquish those roles completely.

Dillon also met Swann last week to clarify his responsibilities.

This masthead contacted Dillon, Swann and Kane but all refused to comment on the tensions. Some senior staff described the issues as “teething problems”, while others insisted the situation was becoming untenable before Dillon’s intervention.

Kane did not respond to questions regarding her non-attendance at the VFL grand final on the Sunday of AFL preliminary final weekend, which saw football official Jennie Loughnan step in to welcome guests.

A colleague said that, unbeknownst to most at the AFL, an urgent family issue meant Kane was in regional Victoria for most of the day and returned home too late to attend the game. Those who were unaware of this were caught off guard. There were rumblings at head office and clubs, according to multiple sources, because she later went to Crown to prepare for the following night’s Brownlow Medal count.

Senior AFL staff who did not want to be quoted due to the sensitive nature of the leadership tensions predicted further changes over the next 12 months. Swann supporters had hoped the experienced former Brisbane Lions chief executive would assume complete control of the men’s competition while Kane would assume full responsibility for the AFLW.

That scenario has been further complicated by some disillusionment at AFLW level and the lack of clarification over the role assigned to nominal AFLW boss Emma Moore.

Several club football bosses and CEOs also lamented their difficulty in engaging with Kane’s No. 2 Nick Carah, the former real estate boss Kane appointed ahead of the more experienced Geoff Walsh. It was an early red flag for Kane’s standing among the clubs when Carah came to the AFL in April and took on the lucrative football role with no club or state league experience.

Recent confusion over pre-season training dates dictated by Carah led to Gold Coast taking the issue to the AFL Players’ Association before Swann intervened to defuse the issue.

Walsh, under Swann’s stewardship, is now playing an expanded role in running the VFL. Like a number of football staffers he is now solely reporting to Swann.

Dillon’s intervention has come at the urging of a number of friends and colleagues warning him of a morale problem among some football staffers over the issue.

Janine and Richard Goyder at the AFLW awards at Melbourne Park’s Centrepiece recently.

A further red flag emerged over the AFL’s messy handling of the Lachie Schultz concussion affair back in May, which led to a serious tension between Kane’s department and the umpires, and famously saw the league release three separate statements over four days, each one overriding the last.

While Dillon announced his radical restructure following the fallout from that incident and said the football roles would be split with Swann assuming the role of football performance executive, Swann was filmed telling his Brisbane players and staff that he was leaving the Lions to “run football for the AFL”.

Kane spent a week away from the office after the announcement. The tension between Swann and Kane has tested Dillon’s leadership following a messy AFL Commission leadership handover, which saw chairman Richard Goyder attempt to extend his reign only to be pressured by the clubs to stand down as he had previously indicated he would next March.

Goyder, in turn, remained determined to anoint his own successor in a move that saw him put forward former Bulldogs chairman Peter Gordon in a late bid to thwart former Collingwood president and AFL legal counsel Jeff Browne. Former Geelong president Craig Drummond ultimately won the role when the clubs indicated that Gordon would not get enough support.

Goyder – a strong supporter of Kane, seeking stability and mindful of a potential challenge – has told the clubs he now wants his commission lieutenant Paul Bassat to seek another term, despite Bassat initially planning to step off the AFL board at the start of next year. Simone Wilkie has also indicated she will seek another term as the commissioner in charge of the AFLW competition.

The incoming Drummond is aware of the tension in the AFL’s football department.

Swann made his presence felt quickly at head office, implementing a more relaxed communication style with clubs and overseeing seven rule changes.

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