The AFL has unveiled Geelong football manager Steve Hocking as its new football operations boss, a replacement for Simon Lethlean.
The former Cats defender has made the switch from club-land to league headquarters after playing a role in three premierships at Simonds Stadium.
![Steve Hocking has been announced as the AFL's new football operations boss.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170901043245im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/7/o/2/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gy7nn0.png/1504231150330.jpg)
"I'm thrilled to be part of the AFL and the broader game and quite humbled," he said on Thursday.
Hocking has told Geelong he will remain with the club throughout its finals campaign, and will pick up the role with the AFL after that.
CEO Gillon McLachlan vowed on the day that he announced Lethlean's departure that the next football operations boss would come from a club, having not run a process when Lethlean was promoted to the role from within the league .
There was a strong field of contenders, which included several club football bosses and chief executives. Hocking did not originally apply for the role.
Lethlean resigned in July after it emerged that he had an affair with a younger female staff member.
General manager of commercial, Richard Simkiss, also resigned at that time, for the same reason.
AFL legal counsel and game development chief Andrew Dillon has been acting general manager of football while Darren Birch is acting commercial manager.
It's understood that Andrew McKay (Carlton) was also a frontrunner for the job.
MORE TO COME, with AAP