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.
We’re getting towards the pointy end now and among those who feature from 20-11 include powerful player managers, footy’s ‘leader of the opposition’ and the two most influential women in the game.
CLICK HERE FOR 2019 MOVERS AND SHAPERS: 50-41
20. Gerard Healy
TV host of On The Couch, Fox Footy analyst, radio host of Sportsday (Vic & Tasmania) and 1988 Brownlow medallist
Last year: –
Before that: 41 (2016)
Over the course of the season, every key football person – official, coaches and players – will appear with Healy on one of his high-profile, high-rating media platforms.
And while his background in the game was as a superb player in 211 games for Melbourne and Sydney, it is his 25 years in the media since that has made him one of those increasingly rare media types with a deep knowledge of all aspects of football.
The man who introduced us to ‘Clarko’s Cluster’ and the ‘Weagles Web’ is equally adept at discussing the off-field direction of the game. For all his media platforms, Healy’s influence is best utilised over the quiet coffees he regularly shares with many of the game’s leading figures.
19. Daisy Pearce
Melbourne AFLW captain, commentator, influencer
Last year: 25
Before that: 49 (2016), 24 (2017)
The biggest name in the women’s game, she is a star player on the field and a respected voice and opinion-shaper off it.
“People just relate to her,” said one AFL marketing person. It is clear from listening and watching Pearce that she knows her stuff and there is not even the merest hint of tokenism in anything she does outside AFLW.
But now there is an added twist. Pearce did not play this season after delivering twins Sylvie and Roy in February, but she fully intends to return to the field next year. How she performs then will be “instructive for generations to come,” noted one commentator.
Daisy Pearce's is the biggest name in the women's game
18. Nathan Buckley
Collingwood coach
Last year: –
Before that: 43 (2016)
Grow a beard, loosen the reins a bit and, before you know it, the Magpies finish within two minutes and a clutch Dom Sheed kick away from winning the 2018 flag.
Collingwood people will tell you that the changes to Buckley’s demeanour were apparent the year before, but it took the post-season review by football boss Geoff Walsh for Buckley to fully immerse himself in his new, chilled persona. He took that a step further by stepping away at the end of last season for a sabbatical in Italy.
His lengthy absence from the club was a bit of a misnomer in that he missed only one week of summer training and was still involved in key decisions via FaceTime, but given that imitation is football’s greatest form of flattery, look for several other coaches to take Roman holidays of their own if the Pies play deep into September once more.
17. Craig Kelly
TLA Australia chief executive
Last year: 17
Before that: 31 (2016), 29 (2017)
With 250 players plus a handful of coaches and high-profile media members in its stable, TLA is the leading management company in the game.
The absorption of Stride Sports into the business went down swimmingly and it was former Stride boss Tom Petroro, now the AFL lead for TLA, who cleared a significant logjam during the trade period that eventually moved Jesse Hogan and Rory Lobb to Fremantle, Lachie Neale to Brisbane, Steven May to Melbourne and Chad Wingard to Hawthorn.
Kelly, who is close to the AFL and in particular a sounding board for Gill McLachlan, sold Elite Sports Properties to TLA Worldwide in 2015 for $25 million, but might yet buy it back now that the global business has been sold.
TLA holds significant marketing, licensing and event agreements with the AFL and made headlines last year with plans to take over the TAC Cup competition, a development that didn’t entirely thrill rival player managers.
16. Paul Connors
Player manager
Last year: 13
Before that: 17 (2016), 18 (2017)
He might not have as many players in his group as TLA, but when it comes to star power, his 100 or so cannot be beaten.
His team, which includes business partner Robbie D’Orazio and the industrious Mel Oberhofer, helps mould the premiership race each year simply with the moves they help engineer.
Last October it was Tom Lynch to Richmond and Dylan Shiel to Essendon. Andrew Gaff’s decision to remain with West Coast is a huge boost to that club’s hopes of back-to-back flags. All eyes are now on Josh Kelly; he stays and the Giants’ flag hopes remain high.
“He actually plays a role in shaping the competition,” said one broadcaster.
Leading player manager Paul Connors helps shape the competition
15. Travis Auld
AFL chief financial officer and general manager of clubs
Last year: 15
Before that: 25 (2016), 21 (2017)
As the main conduit between the League and the clubs, Auld plays a critical role. When they’re not happy or need some clarification, he is their first port of call.
He was the first chief executive of the Suns, so he has walked in their shoes. But his most high-profile role each year is to manage the AFL’s fixture. It is an incredibly complex process that takes several months to prepare, even with the sophisticated software and the various equalisation measures that get plugged in.
Who the clubs play, where and when can have major ramifications for on-field performance and clubs’ bottom lines. He took some justified heat from the prominence given to lowly Carlton in last year’s fixture and will be hoping that Essendon, which this year figures heavily in the prime-time schedule, justifies the faith placed in it by the AFL.
14. Jeff Kennett
Hawthorn president
Last year: 16
Before that: -
A meeting of the Victorian club presidents at his office last May addressed a perceived lack of communication and transparency from the AFL and, as a result, many of the clubs are dealing with the League with firmer resolve.
Entering the second season of his second stint as Hawthorn president, he has plenty to keep him occupied, including the fight to maintain the club’s presence in Tasmania and the move to Dingley, which seems to be blowing out in terms of cost by the year. He’d also like the AFL to fast-track plans to bring the club into the AFLW.
What is harmonious is his relationship with equally hard-headed Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson and, publicly at least, they’re singing from the same song sheet and share grand ambitions for the club.
Jeff Kennett has grand ambitions for Hawthorn
13. Rupert Murdoch, Patrick Delaney, Peter Campbell, Michael Neill
Foxtel/Fox Sports
Last year: 11
Before that: 10 (2016), 12 (2017)
Rupert Murdoch signs the cheques, but figures such as Foxtel boss Delany, Fox Sports head Campbell and Fox Footy general manager Neill have an enormous say in how the game is broadcast.
The depth and breadth of Fox Footy’s AFL coverage is impressive. The game-changer in 2019 could be the new Kayo streaming service that will carry all of Fox Footy’s coverage for $25 a month and puts it in direct competition with Telstra’s Official Live AFL App.
From the launch last spring, the numbers were impressive and, if the service is well subscribed through the season, it adds a new dimension to the next media rights deal. Informal discussions will start this year over that deal ahead of the serious number-crunching this time next year.
12. Andrew Dillon
AFL general counsel, general manager of game development
Last year: 8
Before that: 12 (2016), 9 (2017)
There is no formal deputy chief executive officer of the AFL, but Dillon is universally regarded as having the closest relationship to Gill McLachlan of all the AFL’s management team.
He manages several meaty areas of the AFL including player rules, the draft and game development, while integrity issues are an increasingly important aspect of the game.
McLachlan rarely acts without bouncing his ideas off his cool, calm and collected close mate who sits in the next office. “He’s the voice of reason over there,” said one industry observer who knows him well. “I don’t think his heart rate ever rises above 50.”
11. Caroline Wilson
Journalist, broadcaster
Last year: 5
Before that: 5 (2016), 8 (2017)
Wilson slips out of the top 10 for the first time, which corresponded with her first year of ‘semi-retirement’.
Her role with The Age has been reduced to one column a week, although it must be said that piece regularly packs a punch. She is a staple on 3AW and Channel Nine’s Footy Classified and appears regularly on the ABC’s Offsiders.
She remains the trailblazer for women in football and trumpets that issue regularly, as she does issues of governance and management of the game. She also has strong feelings about the struggles the game is facing in Tasmania and the AFL’s complicity in that.
“Hers is a strong voice and she’s trusted behind the scenes,” said one fellow senior journalist.
