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Morale key for new AFL appointments as concerns raised over sex scandal leak

Caroline Wilson

Of all the missteps navigated by the AFL executive last week as it stumbled towards the only outcome left available to it, one of the most perplexing was one part of the message directed to staff eight days ago.

Gillon McLachlan's address and subsequent conversations left many at head office in no doubt that there was significant disappointment at the top that the story of inappropriate inter-office affairs had been made public.

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AFL announces resignation of two senior execs

Two senior executives - including Gillon McLachlan's right-hand man - have left the AFL after revelations of inappropriate relationships.

So, added to the level of discomfort among some officials concerned their not-so-private lives could come back to haunt them, was the worry that, among others, they could be investigated for gossiping or even leaking.

It is understandable that the CEO McLachlan was emotional to the point of tears last Friday morning but having left his shell-shocked staff to lick their wounds for a week while he took scheduled leave, the priority come Monday should be to move forward and not look back.

Any revisionism or — worse — a move to hunt for a whistleblower would be to completely miss the point of how it all came to this. That some staff were concerned about certain in-house behaviours and might not have felt confident enough to take it to their superior is telling.

There are certainly enough former policemen at AFL House working in integrity and overseeing security to get to the bottom of which disaffected employee might have spoken at the wrong time to the wrong person. But McLachlan and his depleted senior team surely need to prioritise morale while rebuilding at the top.

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Speaking of former cops, the competition is searching for a new integrity boss to oversee that department following the departure of Brett Clothier to a top job overseas.

Having stressed eight days ago that integrity was one of the four pillars which underpinned the AFL, the game has an opportunity to reshape that department with a view to examining the integrity of the in-house culture. Hopefully there will be women among the candidates.

Remarkable to think that the heavily expanded executive team announced by the AFL chief executive earlier this season has so many vacancies. Not only must McLachlan replace Clothier, Simon Lethlean and Richard Simkiss but also media executive Peter Campbell along with diversity leader Ali Fahour.

Despite the heavy agenda on its plate, the game to a degree has been treading water over the past week with Etihad Stadium's home clubs unable to resolve their fixture plans for next season nor their financial forecasts until their ground agreements are complete.

The uncertainty surrounding the AFL Women's licences will move one step closer to resolution with eight clubs presenting their cases at head office over the coming days with Andrew Dillon having temporarily taken over that competition following Lethlean's departure.

A major stoush looms should any of Geelong, North Melbourne, Richmond or St Kilda not be granted a licence for 2019, which poses difficulties for the commission when it reaches a decision on the women's league's future structure early next month.

Should only four clubs be added to the eight foundation teams you would have to assume that Essendon, Hawthorn and Gold Coast miss out, having not applied last time around.

West Coast will surely be included due to the strength of the game in that state, meaning one of the four provisional Victorian clubs could be overlooked. Surely a sixth team will come in at the very least or the competition will consider an uneven number with a bye.
McLachlan has stated that his next football boss will come from the club system.

Certainly there was some significant disaffection when he did not instigate a wider search process early this year when recruiting Mark Evans' replacement.

That lieutenant will oversee AFL Women's, which means that, still, a senior female will not be promoted to front that competition. But it would be another major opportunity lost should no woman win promotion to one of the significant vacancies now available at the top of the game's hierarchy.

That football appointment is just one of a list of crucial decisions facing McLachlan now that he has drawn this new cultural line in the sand. 

He might not believe his own style needs to change but the AFL's does and now lies the opportunity for a significant restructure.
 

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