AFL chief Andrew Dillon explains why he made significant changes

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon has explained the major shake-up to his executive team.

Dillon confirmed on Thursday that he had divided the league’s football department into multiple sectors while introducing a new Football Performance role.

That specific position, which is still be to be filled, will oversee MRO, umpiring, game analysis, player movement, laws of the game, innovation and club engagement within football.

As a result, Laura Kane’s role has been changed from Executive General Manager to Football Operations boss and she will now be responsible for concussion management, mental health response, and the delivery of the AFL, AFLW, VFL, VFLW and the Coates League seasons.

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The chief executive joined Kane Cornes and David King on SEN’s Fireball to provide insight on the situation and why the major alterations have been made.

“I got appointed to the role a little over two years and I've been in the chair for a bit over 18 months. Nothing really prepares you for it until you're in it and just seeing the way the team operates and the responsibilities for the team (we needed change),” Dillon said.

“What I wanted was a setup that allows the AFL to have the best chance of success, and I think by having two football executives on my executive team is really important because ultimately footy is at the heart of every single thing we do

“We’ve seen clubs do that over the last couple of years. Richmond with Blair Hartley and Tim Livingstone on their executive, and for me, it just means we've now got the right setup and the right structures to allow us to be as successful as we can be.”

Dillon insists that Laura Kane is on board with her shift, denying any talk that she was demoted as such.

“Laura is an incredibly talented executive, and an incredible person. We had a good discussion about it, and she's really excited about what's in the role for her moving forward,” Dillon added.

“It’s a really important role for us. AFLW's a massive strategic priority for the AFL, putting on the games week in and week out.

“Then combining our mental health unit with the healthcare unit, the health and safety of our players is of paramount importance, and that's not just at the AFL and AFLW level, but all the way through to community.

“They're the three areas that Laura will be heading up, and she'll do a great job there.”

Was there ever a chance that she either walked away or was told to move from her initial role?

“No, Laura's got so much to offer the industry and she'll continue to do that,” he continued.

“She's done a great job, it was a big, big role. Decisions affect people but they're not personal, it's actually about what's the right thing for the AFL, not just for now, because the AFL's in an incredible position at the moment.

“We have record crowds. Last year for 2024, we had record crowds, record viewership, record participation, record club memberships, the largest surplus the AFL's had and the highest revenue, and in 2025 we're on track to exceed all of those metrics, so we're in good shape now on those metrics.

“But we have to make sure that we've now got a structure that actually allows us to continue to be successful for the next three to five years, and that was the thinking behind the restructure that was announced yesterday.”

Dillon was asked if there has been a loss of confidence in the people that are governing the game by major stakeholders - the clubs and the fans?

“I think there are always issues in the AFL and the reason there are is because people care so much about the game,” the chief said further.

“The clubs in particular have views on what's right and what's wrong for them, but oftentimes they don't necessarily have a unified position. So what the role of the AFL is to try and balance all of those priorities.

“I think in the end we get judged by our actions and the decision yesterday in the restructure allows us to then move forward, and I think we will have the confidence of the clubs to do that.

“Feedback from clubs is really important but ultimately we have to make the decisions and ultimately me as CEO has to make the call about the structure based on feedback, but ultimately making the right decision with all the information we’ve got.”

Has Dillon been frustrated by some of the decision making that has taken place in recent times?

“I want to be perfect, I want to do as good a job as we can,” he replied.

“Even when the AFL is flying you get criticism and if you don’t get things right then you get criticised. That’s fair and you cop that on the chin and just be better.

“They’re the conversations I’ve had with the team. The game overall is in incredible shape.

“You look at the game last night, Essendon with so many players out and they’re competitive against a side that’s second on the ladder.

“We’ve got a great competition, the AFLW fixture is coming out, so there is a lot to look forward to as well.”

Dillon touched on a number of other topics such as the Academies, equalisation, standard of umpiring, Tanya Hosch’s legacy, free-to-air TV & more.

Listen below: