New AFL chairman vows ‘no hubris or arrogance’
Anna Harrington |
There will be no “hubris or arrogance” coming out of the AFL on Craig Drummond’s watch, says the new chairman as he attempts to bridge a disconnect between the league and its clubs.
Drummond, chairman of Transurban Group and the Australian Foundation Investment Group, was elected by club presidents as the replacement for the retired Richard Goyder on Wednesday.
In his opening remarks the former Geelong president delivered an unprompted thinly-veiled swipe at the game’s past hierarchy.
“I think the game is in really good shape and I genuinely believe that,” Drummond said at a press conference alongside chief executive Andrew Dillon in Sydney.
“But in saying that, I wanted to be very clear that there will not be any hubris or arrogance from the AFL commission or the AFL executive.
“I do believe the game’s in great shape – but we’re in a very changing world, changing landscape.
“My focus will be firmly on the football, the fans and the future, and that’s certainly where the executive are going to have their focus.”
Drummond was a director at Geelong for 13 years, including serving as president from 2021-2024.
His appointment follows those of former Sydney CEO Tom Harley and ex-Brisbane boss Greg Swann to key roles as the AFL aims to address a previous disconnect between clubs and Dillon and football operations boss Laura Kane.
“I’ve had 13 years at a club, and I think there are many, many capable executives and people in the clubs,” Drummond said.
“And certainly, in my time on the commission, I’m going to be very focused on making sure that we listen, we take the views of people in the clubs.
“Not saying we’re always going to agree on every issue, but we listen to those folks and we look for a bigger contribution and bigger set of collaboration with our clubs.”
Drummond, who left Geelong at the end of 2024 was unwilling to assess the recent relationship between the AFL and the clubs.
He stressed what was best for the game and fans wouldn’t always correlate with what suited individual clubs.
“There’s always room for improvement, but what I would say is there should be a natural tension between the AFL commission and the clubs because we won’t always agree on every particular issue,” Drummond said.
Drummond said he planned to have “very regular contact” with club presidents and Dillon would do the same with the AFL executive, while Harley, Swann and Kane were also meeting with clubs.
“We’ve probably never done as many meetings and consultations with the clubs as we are today,” he said.
Drummond was non-committal on the annual discussion regarding moving to a night grand final.
AAP