"Asleep at the wheel": Cochrane slams AFL for falling behind NRL

Former Gold Coast Suns chairman Tony Cochrane has slammed the AFL, believing that the competition has now been superseded by its competitors in Peter V’Landys and the NRL.

In his role as the ARLC Chairman (and now interim executive chairman of the NRL), the Racing NSW executive alongside former NRL CEO Andrew Abdo has overseen exponential growth resulting in record numbers in season attendance, TV ratings and revenue in 2025.

As a result, V'Landys has declared the sport as No. 1 within Australia, which has raised plenty of eyebrows within the AFL space.

But having talked the talk across the last few months, V’Landys and the NRL proved the doubters wrong and walked the walk, securing a monster $5.3 billion deal across seven years (the biggest TV rights deal in Australian sporting history).

This sees the NRL earn $800 million more compared to what the AFL signed in 2022.

With the NRL going from strength to strength with V’Landys, the former Supercars executive chairman believes it’s clear which code is currently on top between the two.

“When you stop and really look at who the real winner is in all of this, it's Peter V'landys,” Cochrane told SEN’s Whateley.

“He is knocking it out of the park with the NRL. The mega TV deal speaks for itself, and there were plenty of people here in Melbourne (who) laughed when he talked the numbers he was talking; well, he blew us out of the water.

“The expansion that they've got going on, the way they're promoting the women's game is first class.

“Forget whether you like it or you don't like it, the way they're promoting is outstanding, and it goes on and on.

“One of the problems is the AFL commission are sort of so Melbourne, so VFL-centric, that they're drowning in their own bathwater here, but what the NRL are doing with their massive new funding, their TV ratings this year are monumental, and they’re making tough decisions.

“He doesn't mind taking challenges on; it's great to have a debate with Peter, he doesn't mind a debate at all.

“I don't find too many people in the AFL commission that even want to talk to me, let alone have a debate… maybe that's a good thing on their part.

“But I think we're asleep at the wheel, and whilst we've been asleep at the wheel, everybody who they were ridiculing and having a pop shot at with Peter has quietly in the background for the last three years, really gone about refocusing (and) reorganising.

“And here's a sacrilegious comment to make in the fair city of Melbourne. I think the NRL (are) now absolutely in front of the AFL as a sport in this country.”