The 2019 Movers and Shapers Survey has moved to SEN.com.au.
Crocmedia/AFL Record senior writer Ashley Browne has surveyed the footy industry – administrators, players, managers and media – to establish the definitive list of the most influential people in the game.
It’s the list those on it claim to pay no attention to, but are secretly thrilled to get a guernsey.
Today we countdown from 40 to 31 and it includes one of the game’s all-time greats, a modern-day superstar, an AFL numbers whizz and one of Australia’s leading politicians.
40. Mark Robinson
Herald Sun Chief football writer
Last year: 18
Before that: 13 (2016), 17 (2017)
‘Robbo’ was an early casualty of the Crocmedia takeover of SEN and was bumped from his drivetime and Saturday morning appearances.
But he still has Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Sundays on 3AW and a commanding presence in the most-read sports section in Victoria in which to shape the footy agenda and to have his say.
They remain major pulpits. His passion and knowledge of footy is unquestioned and players do like opening up to him.
39. Liz Lukin
AFL general manager corporate affairs and communications
Last year: –
Before that: –
It’s a wordy title and, for such a public organisation as the AFL, it is a critically important role, but the No. 1 deliverable for Lukin is to manage the image of the League and, in particular, Gill McLachlan.
“Gill can be a force of nature,” said one AFL staffer. “But Liz is not afraid to state her opinion on where he and the AFL should position themselves.”
Lukin broke into football when she was Essendon’s public relations consultant during the heart of the supplements scandal. In 2019, she will be stepping back from her role at AFL House for personal reasons.
Many were surprised she had not made this list before.
38. Leigh Matthews
Commentator, legend
Last year: 45
Before that: 35 (2017)
We don’t get as much of the playing and coaching legend on TV as we used to which is a shame because the eight-time premiership winner (four as a player and four as a coach) still speaks with authority, pragmatism and more common sense than anyone in the game.
Thankfully, he remains a staple of 3AW’s football coverage and he’s also underrated when it comes to Twitter.
He doesn’t tweet often and he usually sticks to footy, but he had Michael Clarke, Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic and Karl Stefanovic in his sights over summer and, just like when he played, if he lined them up, he didn’t miss.
Matthews remains on the Brisbane Lions board and also helps out at Hawthorn from time to time.
37. Dustin Martin
Richmond midfielder, 2017 Brownlow medallist
Last year: 36
Before that: –
He rocketed to the top of the charts as the best player in the AFL in 2017 and pretty much remained there for all but the last few days of the 2018 season, even though his numbers were slightly down.
The Tigers deployed him through the midfield and occasionally in the forward line with devastating effect, but in the qualifying final he suffered a corked thigh, which he carried into the preliminary final a fortnight later.
He was clearly hampered and the Tigers suffered a shock loss to Collingwood, which only served to underline how important he is. Off the field, he gets his gear (mainly) off for Bonds and is a marketer’s and gossip writer’s dream. But he keeps things close to his chest and is one of the game’s mystery men.
Richmond's Dustin Martin is one of the game's mystery men
36. Robin Bishop
AFL Commissioner
Last year: –
Before that: –
If in your previous job you were the head of Macquarie Capital, overseeing the largest investment banking team in the country, leading more than $125 billion in mergers and acquisitions funding and more than $40 billion in capital raising assignments, then you clearly have a head for figures.
And if you’re a footy tragic as well, then, congratulations, there’s a spot on the AFL Commission waiting for you.
Bishop is the head of his own private equity firm, BGH Capital, and since coming on board two years ago, he is the primary number-cruncher on the Commission and, with the AFL now in the property development game with its purchase of Marvel Stadium and its impending refurbishment, having him there to run an eye over the figures is a good thing.
35. Andrew Fagan
Adelaide chief executive
Last year: 40
Before that: 45 (2017)
Fagan is building a sporting empire.
There is the Crows AFL and SANFL teams, the AFLW side, an Esports team and, courtesy of a purchase last July, the Adelaide Bite, which plays in the Australian Baseball League.
The Crows are rich and powerful and one of the most scrutinised and beloved organisations in South Australia.
Fagan, with the strong backing of his board, runs the business side of things, but the key powerbroker when it comes to the core business – football – is former club champion and now board member Mark Ricciuto.
Andrew Fagan is building a sport empire in Adelaide
34. Colin Carter
Geelong president
Last year: –
Before that: –
The days of Geelong being the lovable country bumpkins of the competition are long gone and much of that transformation into an AFL power is due to Carter, one of Australia’s foremost management consultants and governance experts.
He has combined those areas of expertise with a deep love of sport, and particularly the Cats, for more than 30 years. As a former AFL Commissioner, he has close ties to headquarters but he’s nnot afraid to take the League or rival club leaders to task when necessary.
Think of Eddie McGuire and Jeff Kennett, but without the megaphones. “He is still the wisest club president,” said one commentator.
33. Daniel Andrews
Victorian Premier
Last year: 47
Before that: 33 (2016)
Grassroots football in Victoria was the winner when Andrews handed over $225 million of state funds, half of which was directed towards building infrastructure and improving facilities across the state, particularly for the burgeoning women’s game. The other half was to be directed towards a major renovation of Marvel Stadium and the surrounding precinct, a project in which the AFL will be an equal partner.
But there’s always a catch and, with the flourish of his pen, the contract to play the Grand Final at the MCG was extended to 2057, dashing non-Victorian clubs’ hopes that, like the Super Bowl, the AFL’s premiership decider might one day be rotated around all the major Australian cities.
It briefly sparked talk of introducing a best-of-three Grand Final to make things a bit less advantageous for Victorian clubs and in particular the MCG tenants, but West Coast beating Collingwood in last year’s decider actually keeps the non-Victorian clubs ahead of the ledger.
32. Mark Brayshaw/AFL coaches
AFL Coaches Association
Last year: –
Before that: –
What was once a lobby group on behalf of the AFL’s senior coaches has evolved into a large organisation with 240 members drawn from the ranks of the AFL and AFLW.
Brayshaw and his team work on behalf of the coaching fraternity when it comes to health, wealth, professional development and welfare and also lends a helping hand to those who might be leaving the profession. But at the pointy end, it is the 18 senior coaches who are enormously influential in the game and, given the myriad of demands on their time and attention, it is Brayshaw who represents their interests and, when required, fights their battles.
Brayshaw is also the father of three AFL footballers – Melbourne’s Angus, Fremantle’s Andrew and West Coast’s Hamish – and attracted deserved praise for how the family handled things after the on-field clash with West Coast’s Andrew Gaff that left Andrew nursing a broken jaw.
31. Darren Birch
AFL general manager, growth digital and audience
Last year: 29
Before that: 26 (2017)
His is a wide-ranging remit at the AFL and the focus in 2018 was clearly on growing existing audiences and developing new ones – particularly women and girls, multicultural communities and the large swathes of New South Wales and Queensland where the game lags behind the rugby codes in terms of audience and participation.
On that basis he had a good year, with the numbers trending in the right direction and, in particular, AFL Media, which includes the AFL Live App and AFL.com.au, comfortably remaining the most popular digital sports property in the country.
The AFL Live App has more than 1.6 million subscribers. Birch is also leading the League’s push into Esports, which it hopes will open a whole new audience for the game, particularly children.
