Caro: The scandal that could see Dillon out of office

Caroline Wilson has made a huge call on Andrew Dillon, stating her belief that the AFL boss will be out of his role as league CEO by the end of 2026.

As reported by Wilson, Dillon was caught in a scandal involving long-term AFL staffer Judith Donnelly, who was blamed and ultimately sacked for the debacle that has been the AFL commission since the introduction of Dillon.

Accused for the tensions and faults surrounding Laura Kane, Donnelly was reportedly forced out of her role, and it may not bode well for Dillon in the long term.

“A big story that has been happening has been the leadership changes in footy at the AFL, where Greg Swann came in, took over from Laura Kane, but that was never properly explained,” Wilson told Don’t Shoot the Messenger Podcast.

“It was said that they were going to share the role; that hasn’t worked. There has been real leadership tensions between those two, between people working under Laura Kane and Greg Swann. It’s been embarrassing.

“They have not got on, and it hasn’t really worked. Jude Donnelly, who is a bit of an unofficial chief of staff to Andrew Dillon, a big supporter of Andrew Dillon who lobbied hard for him to get the job with Andrew Demetriou and others – was blamed by Richard Goyder (departing chairman) for the commission stories, bizarrely, because of her friendship with Jeff Browne (former Collingwood CEO).

“She was blamed for the stories about the leadership tensions between Laura Kane and Greg Swann, wrongly.

“Her role was corporate but largely involving government. She was involved in the Tasmania stadium deal, the amazing Brisbane stadium deal that has got the AFL the best deal ever with the new stadium post Olympics.

“Andrew Dillon basically said to her, Richard wants you gone. Andrew Dillon looks weak, Richard Goyder looks like a bully, firing bullets on the way out.

“Andrew Dillon should have stood up and said no! Richard backs Laura Kane, he blamed her for some reason for the Laura Kane debacle.

“I think it’s difficult to see how Andrew Dillon lasts the year. I think his leadership has been so badly diminished by this, unless he really did want her to go and he was just pretending when he told her… apparently there were tears at this meeting, it was really emotional.

“The stories that people were told about why she’d left… there was just misinformation going everywhere.

“The plan is, unless something goes horribly wrong, that (Tom Harley) will be the next CEO of the AFL.

“The fact that he is there (as COO) – will it happen within a year? Maybe I’m being unfair, but I think the poor handling of so many issues last year on and off the field – off the field mainly, despite the fact that they boast about the ratings and the crowds and this and that.”

Listen to the full discussion below: