‘Floundering' AFL stuck in crisis mode amid AFL Commission leadership vacuum emerges: ‘Nobody wants the job'
A leadership vacuum has emerged at the top of the AFL, with veteran journalist Caroline Wilson declaring it is time for league bosses to 'step up or step down'.
The AFL entered crisis mode last week when football boss Laura Kane issued three separate statements on the handling of a concussion incident.
The second correspondence left umpires privately seething before the AFL accepted in its third and last that it 'failed' in its processes.
AFL Players' Association president Paul Marsh condemned league bosses while Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley spoke out against the 'inconsistencies' and 'lack of confidence' stemming from decisions and their messaging.
Kane and her department recently received support with the appointment of respected administrator and part-time consultant Geoff Walsh to a full-time role.
But Wilson said the problems continue above with CEO Andrew Dillon and AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder.
'The first thing that has to happen is there has to be a change at the top,' The Agenda Setters expert said on 3AW.
'Most people agree, and the chorus has become deafening, that Richard Goyder needs a replacement.
'For the first time in memory, in the history of the commission, there is no succession plan — just as (former AFL CEO) Gillon McLachlan had no succession plan, which started a lot of this problem.
'There is no succession plan on the commission. Nobody on the commission wants the job, apparently, and Richard Goyder was saying there was no one on the commission he believes can do the job.'
Football legend Leigh Matthews said: 'You've got to laugh at that, Caro.'
Wilson replied: 'Don't shoot the messenger.'
The commission is made up of Goyder, Dillon, Paul Bassat, Robin Bishop, Denise Bowden, ex-AFL player Matt De Boer, former Sydney Swans CEO Andrew Ireland, ex-Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold, former GWS director Gabrielle Trainor and Simone Wilkie.
A recruiting firm has been hired to find candidates, Wilson said, adding 'in the meantime the (club) presidents are circling'.
Sydney Swans president Andrew Pridham is seen as a 'strong choice', with Port Adelaide's David Koch and former Collingwood chairman Jeff Browne also candidates.
Wilson said she was unsure if Goyder planned to step down when his term expires at the end of the year, or stick around during the transition to a new chair.
'That has to change. Andrew Dillon needs a strong chairman,' Wilson said.
'Andrew Dillon then needs to make (sure), and people internally are saying this, not just one person but several — never waste a crisis. Everybody admits there is a crisis.
'The communication department is floundering, the footy department is floundering.
'The legal counsel, in my view, is floundering. There's no structure. The AFL has become a regime of crime and punishment.
'The umpiring is floundering. Never have I seen the players and umpires more at odds with each other.
'Never have I seen players so disgruntled with head office over fines and the refusal to listen.
'Never have I seen the coaches more unhappy about the lack of respect they're being shown on every level.'
Wilson also said she was 'disappointed' to say the communication from the AFL to the fans has been lacking like never before.
'Every interview they do is sort of manufactured,' she said.
'Someone commented about Laura Kane's recent interviews — it was like reading in an AI interview, artificial intelligence.
'These are smart, good people, but none of them are showing leadership and none of them seem to be in the right roles.
'And everyone is saying they need a deputy or they need another strong person.
'Well, no, you step up and do the job or step down.'
The AFL has yet to recruit a chief operating officer to work alongside Dillon, who wants an experienced club boss to take on the role.
Simon Garlick (Fremantle) has been considered the frontrunner with Tom Harley (Sydney) and Ameet Bains (Bulldogs) appearing less likely to swap clubland for AFL House.
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"I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really." Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. 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"I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really." Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really." Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really."
