AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon says there is always tension between head office and clubs, but denies the decision to carve off some of Laura Kane’s responsibilities was due to gender bias.
Dillon has shaken up his executive, with a notable move being splitting Kane’s previous role as executive general manager of football split in two, with Kane to remain on the AFL’s leadership team as executive general manager of football operations.
Kane will still have major responsibilities, but she will no longer oversee football performance, where tensions grew after a series of bungles in her relationship with the 18 clubs and AFL umpiring department. This included the miscommunication with umpires over the Lachie Schultz concussion drama.
New role: AFL boss Andrew Dillon says Laura Kane is not a victim of gender bias among club leaders.Credit: Getty Images
Her dealings with football departments are largely with men, but Dillon on Friday denied Kane was a victim of unconscious gender bias.
“I don’t think so. Laura has come up through a club. She was at North Melbourne for seven years. She has incredible relationships with the football departments. And she will be, every single day, as she is putting on the logistics of the game, and every weekend when she is at the game, interacting with coaches, heads of football, and the like,” Dillon told ABC Radio.
“What this change in structure does provide the AFL with the best chance to succeed. When I was talking to staff that were affected yesterday, they are decisions that affect people, but they are not personal because it’s actually for all of us.”
Dillon also addressed questions whether the heads of football at clubs had an issue taking directions from Kane.
“No. I don’t think they did. As I said, it’s an issues-rich environment. There are issues always in the AFL, particularly with the 18 clubs,” Dillon said.
“It’s a hyper-competitive competition. Just the smallest thing can make a difference. So, always, whether it was me in the role, Steve Hocking, Mark Evans before that, Adrian Anderson before him, then Andrew Demetriou, there has always been tension with the clubs. But, no, it’s not a gender thing.
“Laura has broken down a lot of barriers. She is an incredibly talented administrator, and she will continue to be incredibly successful and a great help for me and a great help for the team going forward.”
Under several changes announced by Dillon, Kane will oversee the delivery of the AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW seasons, and take charge of a newly formed health and medical team that will handle the AFL’s response to mental health and concussion issues. She will also be the executive leading the AFLW.
Dillon is hunting for a new EGM of football performance, who will be responsible for the match review office, umpiring, game analysis and player movement, laws of the game, innovation, and the AFL’s football engagement with its 18 clubs.
Dillon conceded Kane may have been set up to fail because of the wide scope of her original remit.
“That’s a good question. But what I did, I have been in the role now for 18 months … having a look at how we are going, and just seeing the complexity now in the football operations department, I made the call, football is at the heart of everything we do,” Dillon said.
“You make your decisions around that. When I, after 18 months, looking at my team and how best we are to succeed, having two roles on the executive with a focus on football was really important to me. Footy is at the heart of everything we do. We also do a lot of other stuff but footy is at the heart of it. Laura is a member of the AFL executive, she has an incredibly important job.”
Executive general manager of inclusion and social policy Tanya Hosch will depart the AFL on June 6, while Stephen Meade will continue to be the league’s general counsel, but no longer sit on the executive team.
The integrity portfolio will no longer be the responsibility of the general counsel, and will move to the remit of the incoming chief operating officer. Western Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains, Fremantle counterpart Simon Garlick and Sydney chief Tom Harley are in contention for that new role.
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