Latest news with #AndrewDillon
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
AFL refuses to address reports of Snoop Dogg grand final act
It would be tha shiznit. Rumours are swirling that Snoop Dogg will drop it like it's hot for the pre-game entertainment at this year's AFL grand final. But the AFL is refusing to say whether the talk is fo' shizzle. The speculation started after Melbourne radio host Ross Stevenson told 3AW's Rumour File 'it had been suggested' the 53-year-old would headline the game at the MCG on September 27. 'It has been suggested to me that the Grand Final entertainment this year will be Snoop Dogg,' he told the show last week. AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon dismissed rumours at a press conference on Tuesday. But promised fans they could expect 'big acts'. AFL CEO Andrew Dillon promised fans could expect 'big acts' at the Grand Final. Credit: News Corp Australia 'The Grand Final entertainment is important,' he said. 'So many people care about it and we're going to have a big act that we'll be announcing relatively soon.' AFL spokesperson Jay Allen dodged questions about the rapper and said pre-game entertainment announcement would be imminent. 'The pre-game entertainment at the AFL Grand Final is always a talking point and we're hoping to make an announcement shortly,' he told The West Australian. 'We are excited to deliver another world class show in front of 100,000 fans at the 'G and the millions more watching the broadcast ahead of the biggest game of the season.' Best known for his hits Drop It Like It's Hot and Gin and Juice, Snoop made music history after headlining the 2022 Super Bowl LVI halftime show with other hip-hop greats Dr Dre, Eminem, Mary J Blige and Kendrick Lamar. The rapper has been at the centre of various controversies, including claims he sexually assaulted a woman after one of his concerts in 2013. Snoop last toured Australia in 2023 as part of his 'I Wanna Thank Me' tour.
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
AFLW remains 'investment worth making' despite concerns, says Andrew Dillon ahead of 10th season
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon insists the AFLW remains an investment "absolutely worth making" as the competition battles with stagnating crowds and ratings ahead of its milestone 10th season. The competition kicks off with Carlton playing Collingwood at Princes Park on August 14. In recent years, the AFLW has expanded in size and season length while players are receiving far better salaries and conditions, but it has dropped off in attendances and TV ratings. The AFL has reportedly told clubs the women's competition is losing $50 million a year, though Dillon says that's not a "line" that's ever been run by the league. "We have a big investment in AFLW, but it's an investment absolutely worth making," he said. "And you can talk about direct profit losses, but I think what's also important when you're looking at a competition like AFLW, are the indirect benefits that we have from having an elite women's competition. "The increase in women and girls coming to our games, increasing women and girls playing our game, the opportunities that it opens up for our clubs in terms of infrastructure, the opportunities that it opens up for the clubs in the AFL in attracting and retaining broadcasters, commercial partners and just attracting fans. "I think it's an investment well worth making." Dillon was speaking at the AFL's industry summit involving staff from all clubs. Tuesday's summit included a presentation making it clear the AFL considers the AFLW a key "lever" in achieving its overall attendance and membership targets. Dillon was confident the AFLW was heading in the right direction. "Coming into season 10, we've got a really solid base from which I think we'll grow," Dillon said. "We've got incredible athletes coming into the game, incredible athletes playing and now what we want to do is just continue to promote the game and get more people to come and see it in person and then watch it on TV. "I think if you haven't watched it more recently, you'll be really pleasantly surprised. The style of play is really exciting, and I'm really looking forward to season 10 starting in a couple of weeks." AAP
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Big winner': AFL chief doubles down on Thursday football despite criticism
The AFL says Thursday night football is here to stay, as the league's free-to-air broadcaster declared it wanted the most compelling games all season long in the timeslot, which has been dogged by one-sided contests this year. League chief executive Andrew Dillon on Tuesday defended the key slot but promised he would push for a wider spread of teams playing on Thursday nights next season. Thursday night football was embraced for a full season for the first time this year. Declaring that move a success, Dillon said the timeslot had delivered an average TV audience of 1.06 million viewers – up one per cent on last year – and average attendance of 40,000 – four per cent lower than last year's 42,000. 'Thursday nights have averaged above the season average, so that's a tick. Thursday nights have rated extremely well, but what I think is important is that we have a spread of teams that play through those different slots, so absolutely we will take that on board,' Dillon said from the sidelines of the inaugural AFL industry summit at Marvel Stadium. 'We have evolved the fixture over the last couple of years with the floating fixture, which is not always as popular with all of our fans. But we think that is one important part. Loading 'Maybe this year is a bit of an outlier in terms of the teams that were selected earlier on, some big Victorian teams, who were in pretty solid form at the time the floating fixture was put in. That hasn't come to fruition. 'Again, the games are still rating pretty well, are still pretty well attended, but we will take on the feedback from fans, broadcasters and our clubs as we look to the 2026 fixture.' The past two months in the heart of winter and the school year have been a hard sell for the timeslot, broadcasters Seven and Foxtel not helped by the disappointing campaigns of power clubs Carlton (six Thursday night games so far this season) and Essendon (five). The two clubs are also likely to meet on a Thursday night in round 24.
The Age
a day ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Big winner': AFL chief doubles down on Thursday football despite criticism
The AFL says Thursday night football is here to stay, as the league's free-to-air broadcaster declared it wanted the most compelling games all season long in the timeslot, which has been dogged by one-sided contests this year. League chief executive Andrew Dillon on Tuesday defended the key slot but promised he would push for a wider spread of teams playing on Thursday nights next season. Thursday night football was embraced for a full season for the first time this year. Declaring that move a success, Dillon said the timeslot had delivered an average TV audience of 1.06 million viewers – up one per cent on last year – and average attendance of 40,000 – four per cent lower than last year's 42,000. 'Thursday nights have averaged above the season average, so that's a tick. Thursday nights have rated extremely well, but what I think is important is that we have a spread of teams that play through those different slots, so absolutely we will take that on board,' Dillon said from the sidelines of the inaugural AFL industry summit at Marvel Stadium. 'We have evolved the fixture over the last couple of years with the floating fixture, which is not always as popular with all of our fans. But we think that is one important part. Loading 'Maybe this year is a bit of an outlier in terms of the teams that were selected earlier on, some big Victorian teams, who were in pretty solid form at the time the floating fixture was put in. That hasn't come to fruition. 'Again, the games are still rating pretty well, are still pretty well attended, but we will take on the feedback from fans, broadcasters and our clubs as we look to the 2026 fixture.' The past two months in the heart of winter and the school year have been a hard sell for the timeslot, broadcasters Seven and Foxtel not helped by the disappointing campaigns of power clubs Carlton (six Thursday night games so far this season) and Essendon (five). The two clubs are also likely to meet on a Thursday night in round 24.
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Rogue AFL fixture looms as finals-deciding clash
With Gold Coast's postponed match against Essendon looming as an increasingly pivotal part of the AFL top-four race, an announcement on the timing of the rogue fixture is imminent. The opening-round clash on the Gold Coast was postponed because of Tropical Cyclone Alfred and rescheduled to the end of the season, rather than for either club's bye week. There have been reports the stray game could be played on the Wednesday between round 24 and the pre-finals bye. Now at the pointy end of the season, the Suns' and Bombers' vastly contrasting fortunes means the game could play a crucial role leading into what looms as Gold Coast's first finals series. The eighth-placed Suns (48 points) are four points ahead of the Western Bulldogs but four behind fourth-placed Geelong, who are on 52 points along with Hawthorn, GWS and Fremantle, but Gold Coast have a game in hand. The injury-ravaged 15th-placed Bombers are on an eight-game losing streak, and up against it to win another game this year. It means a likely - and potentially percentage-boosting - win for Gold Coast could be what launches the Suns into the top four. "That's the last fixture, so that's the final part of flexing the fixture," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said on Tuesday. "So we're working through that at the moment, "I reckon we'll be making an announcement on that in the next week or so." Dillon was speaking ahead of the AFL's industry summit, which included representatives from all clubs, including Tasmania. He acknowledged the gulf in quality between the AFL's top nine and bottom nine this season, but considered it an anomaly. "There is a bit of a gap," he said. "But I think what's really pleasing for some is you look at the top eight or nine this year with four teams that have come from outside to inside. "You often get anomalous seasons. Last year, we were at 13 or 14 teams in it right to the end. This year's a little bit different "What we do have is an incredibly tight competition at the pointy end." The league has come under criticism for Essendon and Carlton continuing to play in prime timeslots despite their decline in fortunes. "Maybe this year's just a bit of an outlier in terms of the teams that were selected earlier on, some big Victorian teams who were in pretty solid form at the time the floating fixture was put in, that hasn't come to fruition," Dillon said. "But again, the games are still rating pretty well, they're still pretty well attended, but we'll take on board feedback from fans and broadcasters and our clubs as we look to the 2026 fixture." Dillon said the league needed to strike a balance between ensuring the fixture was flexible, while also looking after the fans. He was "really confident" the Tasmanian expansion club would be ready for the 2028 season, but stressed their licence was dependent on the building of the roofed 23,000-capacity stadium at Macquarie Point. With Gold Coast's postponed match against Essendon looming as an increasingly pivotal part of the AFL top-four race, an announcement on the timing of the rogue fixture is imminent. The opening-round clash on the Gold Coast was postponed because of Tropical Cyclone Alfred and rescheduled to the end of the season, rather than for either club's bye week. There have been reports the stray game could be played on the Wednesday between round 24 and the pre-finals bye. Now at the pointy end of the season, the Suns' and Bombers' vastly contrasting fortunes means the game could play a crucial role leading into what looms as Gold Coast's first finals series. The eighth-placed Suns (48 points) are four points ahead of the Western Bulldogs but four behind fourth-placed Geelong, who are on 52 points along with Hawthorn, GWS and Fremantle, but Gold Coast have a game in hand. The injury-ravaged 15th-placed Bombers are on an eight-game losing streak, and up against it to win another game this year. It means a likely - and potentially percentage-boosting - win for Gold Coast could be what launches the Suns into the top four. "That's the last fixture, so that's the final part of flexing the fixture," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said on Tuesday. "So we're working through that at the moment, "I reckon we'll be making an announcement on that in the next week or so." Dillon was speaking ahead of the AFL's industry summit, which included representatives from all clubs, including Tasmania. He acknowledged the gulf in quality between the AFL's top nine and bottom nine this season, but considered it an anomaly. "There is a bit of a gap," he said. "But I think what's really pleasing for some is you look at the top eight or nine this year with four teams that have come from outside to inside. "You often get anomalous seasons. Last year, we were at 13 or 14 teams in it right to the end. This year's a little bit different "What we do have is an incredibly tight competition at the pointy end." The league has come under criticism for Essendon and Carlton continuing to play in prime timeslots despite their decline in fortunes. "Maybe this year's just a bit of an outlier in terms of the teams that were selected earlier on, some big Victorian teams who were in pretty solid form at the time the floating fixture was put in, that hasn't come to fruition," Dillon said. "But again, the games are still rating pretty well, they're still pretty well attended, but we'll take on board feedback from fans and broadcasters and our clubs as we look to the 2026 fixture." Dillon said the league needed to strike a balance between ensuring the fixture was flexible, while also looking after the fans. He was "really confident" the Tasmanian expansion club would be ready for the 2028 season, but stressed their licence was dependent on the building of the roofed 23,000-capacity stadium at Macquarie Point. With Gold Coast's postponed match against Essendon looming as an increasingly pivotal part of the AFL top-four race, an announcement on the timing of the rogue fixture is imminent. The opening-round clash on the Gold Coast was postponed because of Tropical Cyclone Alfred and rescheduled to the end of the season, rather than for either club's bye week. There have been reports the stray game could be played on the Wednesday between round 24 and the pre-finals bye. Now at the pointy end of the season, the Suns' and Bombers' vastly contrasting fortunes means the game could play a crucial role leading into what looms as Gold Coast's first finals series. The eighth-placed Suns (48 points) are four points ahead of the Western Bulldogs but four behind fourth-placed Geelong, who are on 52 points along with Hawthorn, GWS and Fremantle, but Gold Coast have a game in hand. The injury-ravaged 15th-placed Bombers are on an eight-game losing streak, and up against it to win another game this year. It means a likely - and potentially percentage-boosting - win for Gold Coast could be what launches the Suns into the top four. "That's the last fixture, so that's the final part of flexing the fixture," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said on Tuesday. "So we're working through that at the moment, "I reckon we'll be making an announcement on that in the next week or so." Dillon was speaking ahead of the AFL's industry summit, which included representatives from all clubs, including Tasmania. He acknowledged the gulf in quality between the AFL's top nine and bottom nine this season, but considered it an anomaly. "There is a bit of a gap," he said. "But I think what's really pleasing for some is you look at the top eight or nine this year with four teams that have come from outside to inside. "You often get anomalous seasons. Last year, we were at 13 or 14 teams in it right to the end. This year's a little bit different "What we do have is an incredibly tight competition at the pointy end." The league has come under criticism for Essendon and Carlton continuing to play in prime timeslots despite their decline in fortunes. "Maybe this year's just a bit of an outlier in terms of the teams that were selected earlier on, some big Victorian teams who were in pretty solid form at the time the floating fixture was put in, that hasn't come to fruition," Dillon said. "But again, the games are still rating pretty well, they're still pretty well attended, but we'll take on board feedback from fans and broadcasters and our clubs as we look to the 2026 fixture." Dillon said the league needed to strike a balance between ensuring the fixture was flexible, while also looking after the fans. He was "really confident" the Tasmanian expansion club would be ready for the 2028 season, but stressed their licence was dependent on the building of the roofed 23,000-capacity stadium at Macquarie Point.
