AFL CEO Andrew Dillon joined Brent for an in-depth chat about the Devils, Macquarie Point Stadium and what it takes to build an AFL club.
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SEN Tassie
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon (01/07/24)
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Since then, he's gone on to act in several positions, including general manager of legal and business affairs, general manager of national and game development, general manager of legal integrity and compliance, and executive general manager of football operations. Then last year, he was promoted to the organization's biggest job of all when he replaced Gilliam McLachlan as CEO. Football's been a defining part of my life. As it has for so many of our supporters, and it's a privilege and an honor to be given the opportunity to lead the AFL. Every touch point in 40 should be positive and memorable. From an apparent signing, a kid up to Ozkick for the first time, to a player being drafted or an umpire to booing on a Saturday afternoon in community 40. Our game connects with so many, and I'm going to be driven to ensure we continue to make all of these moments unforgettable. It's really important, and I can't stress it enough, that we are a game for everyone. A game that isn't will remain accessible, affordable and safe, and a game where everyone feels welcome. I've been so fortunate to be involved at footy at so many levels throughout my life. From my first game as a five-year-old in an under-tense match at the Grange Road Reserve, right through to junior club and school football. I umpire, albeit not very well in the old HDJFL during the high school years, and then I played community football for 16 years at a senior level. I've run an Ozkick centre. I've been an assistant coach at the senior level for the old Zabs, and I coach junior girls 40 at the Q comments for five years. It's not lost on me, the responsibility I have to the greatest game in the world. And I want everyone to know, I will always put the game first. There's certainly great words to hear if you're a passionate footy fan, Andrew Dillon speaking there on May 1st last year when he was appointed to the top job. And I'm pleased to say he's sitting opposite me right now. I know you're a very busy man, Andrew. So thanks so much for giving up some of your time for us here on The Devil's Advocate. Yeah, great to be here on The Devil's Advocate. The brand officially came to life in March. How do you feel about it all a few months on? Look, it's been a bit of a whirlwind, to be honest, and the take-up and the feedback and everything that the club's got, and then the AFL by extension from the launch of the brand, but even going back another year to the announcement on The License has been nothing short of incredible and above and beyond any of the expectations that we ever had. We've been pushing for years and years for a Tasmanian team. What changed the AFL HQ to get this done? I think it was just, I think you're right, it was just years and years of work, and it was just persistence. And then ultimately, it was a force or it was a movement that became irresistible, and so much hard work went into it. Years and years of people playing and advocating, but then ultimately, a business case that made sense to the AFL commission. It made sense to the task force, which was led by Brett Godfrey, made sense for them to put it up to the AFL, and then our other 18 clubs signing off on it. How are the 18 clubs feeling about Tasmania's entry? Yeah, I think they can see what Tasmania will bring to our competition, and I think they'll add to it from the first day. They've added to it already, so I think our 18 clubs are as excited. They'll have, it's another club for them to compete with, but I think they see how important it's going to be. I think I'm right by saying you chased Brendan Gail pretty strongly to be your right-hand man at the AFL, once you got the top job. How do you feel about him coming into the CEO role here? I think it's a great coup for the Tasmanian footy club, and I think it's great for the AFL that Brendan's going to stay involved in the industry. He's done incredible work at Richmond, delivered on every single thing that he said he would do, and probably above and beyond that. And I think for a brand new club, albeit one with 150 years of history behind it, for them to be able to secure a CEO of his standing is fantastic, and I look at it from an AFL point of view, how good? I guess a big thing you need to work on is draft picks and things like that for the list build for Tasmania. Are you close to finalising that, or has that still been worked on pretty hard behind the scenes? I think that's been worked pretty hard behind the scenes. I know when Brendan gets his feet under the desk, it'll be one of the things that he's really focused on, and I think one of the attractions for him for this role was the ability to shape the club in all areas. And I think the playing list and how they set up is going to be really important. So there's a fair bit of work to do there, but yeah, we've done it before, you know, it's a few years ago back now with the Giants and the Gold Coast, but lots of learnings from that, and I'm sure they'll play their way through. Obviously, Macquarie Point Stadium is a big key for our full licence being granted. Are you really happy with how things are progressing with that? Yeah, it's, look, there's a process that's in place now, but there's a power of work that's going on in relation to design at the moment. I'm really looking forward to seeing how that comes out, and then the posse process will play itself out, but I've said it a few times today. But we're really excited about the team and about the stadium, and it'll be incredible for the Tazzy Devils, but I think having a stadium at Macquarie Point will be so additive for Hobart, but also all of Tasmania. You've just come from the site now. Do you look around and imagine what it's going to be like in, you know, five, six years time? Yeah, I mean, creativity wasn't probably my strong point, it never has been, but to be able to sit there, you can get a bit of an idea of what it might look like, and, you know, to be able to walk from the CBD down in a couple of minutes. Reminds me, it sort of reminds me of Adelaide Oval, except it's probably a lot closer, so it's got a bit of Marvel stadium. It's got a little bit of the best of all of our stadium in terms of the position, and I can't wait to see what it's going to look like. Mac, 2.0's been around the surface for a little while. Could we put a line officially through that? If it hasn't been already, you can definitely do that. Okay, okay. Good to know. There's obviously some timelines that need to be met as well in relation to playing the first game there in 2029, so a year at Blundson and Utah's stadium, but are you confident that can be done? The build of a stadium is a pretty big job, but you're pretty happy with the timeline at the moment. Yeah, look, the process is complex, designing a stadium's complex and then building, it's the same thing, but we are confident that all the timelines that are in the agreement that we've got with the Tasmanian Government and they're still going to be able to be hit. What about the people that say we've got a perfectly good stadium at Blundson Arena? Why can't we just use that rather than build a new stadium? Can you do the self-foruses to why we need a new stadium? Look, I mean, yeah, Blundston Bell Reeve is a great stadium and it's been a good stadium for North Melbourne, and also for Tasmanian cricket over a number of years, but our fans, our AFL fans and the fans of the Tassie Devils and the fans of our AFL clubs, it'll be coming down, whether it's West Coast and Freo or Collingwood, Carlton, Messon and Richmond. The stadium that they're used to going to, like the MCG and Marvel, like Opta Stadium, like Adelaide Overlay, these are stadiums that are some of the best in the world, and yes, there's a great heritage and history with Bell Reeve or Blundston, but what we need for the Tassie Devils to come in and be successful. I think what Hobart and Tassie needs is a stadium that's state-of-the-art, uniquely Tasmanian, and I think what I'm hearing and what I'm hoping to see is something that will be like that, and when you have a stadium like that, a city the size of Hobart, a state the size of Tasmania, you want to be able to attract the big events. You don't want to have to always go over the mainland if you want to see a concert, and I think that's going to be really important for the stadium as well, and that's what that will bring to Hobart and Tasmania. Andrew Dillon, the AFL CEO, is my guest on the Devil's Advocate. I think, Andrew, there's a perception by some here in Tasmania that the AFL are these big bullies from the mainland and come down and say, "We want this, and we want that, is that fair?" No, I don't think it is fair. And in fact, the negotiation and where the AFL and the Tassie government ended up in relation to the introduction of the Tassie, who are now the Tassie Devils, was a really robust negotiation, and where we ended up, say, for instance with the stadium, that was part of the business case for the club. But that was a business case that was originated by the Tassie task force who were working with the Tassie government. So in some ways, it was almost the club coming to the AFL saying, "We need a stadium like this, and if we do that, then the business case for us stands up." And the AFL negotiating with the Tassie government and accepting it. So, look, we are really excited about the team coming in, but we're great partners with the Tasmanian government. And what we're really happy with is that we've got a great board of the Tassie Devils now, and now they're going to have one of the best CEOs in the competition. $360 million from the AFL is wrapped up in the deal with Tasmania. Is that money started filtering through yet? Yeah, we've been investing in Tassie for a while, but that additional investment's starting to hit community and talent pathways in Tasmania now. And we're starting to see already, I think, the fruits of that. And whether it's the investment or whether it's just the fact that the Tassie Devils are coming into the competition, we've got the boys and girls' teams in the coach league, the boys a second on the ladder, the girls a third. I understand there's a really strong under-16s and under-15 boys' teams that are coming through from Tasmania. I think that's all, I think, a part of the investment that we've made. But I think it's also part of the excitement that the young boys and girls now can sort of see and feel and almost touch that elite team that's going to be representing Tasmania in the national competition. And I think there's so many things to be excited about and look forward to, but the Tassie Devils will be so unique in our competition because it'll be a one-club, one-state team, and there's no one else who's got that. And I think that provides so many opportunities for the club, but also for AFL-Tass Mania for them to be able to work so closely together and be so aligned to grow 40 at the elite level for AFL and AFL-W, but also from, you know, Ozkik all the way through. There's a bit of talk and a perception that players won't want to come here and, you know, the little Tassie blah, blah, blah. Do you think that's a bit of a myth and do you think it will be a pretty hot place to come for jobs for people in the industry? Well, if the number of people who've come to me and also I know who've come to Brendan since he got his role is any indication, I think we'll be knocking people back for admin roles, coaching roles, and I think there will be a seriously strong cohort of players who will see an opportunity here to be part of something really special, playing in a great stadium in Hobart, but also I've been, you know, a redeveloped Utah's stadium in Launceston, which will be great, and also a high-performance centre that's going to be brand new when at as good as anything in the competition. What about the lessons we can learn from GWS in the Gold Coast entry into the competition? Can you run us through something we need to get right that maybe they didn't do so well? Well, I think from the things that we can control at the AFL, which is something we touched on before, which is those list rules, and I think what we want, what the competition wants, and I'm sure what the fans of the Tassie Devils will want, is a team that's competitive from day one. So I think as we look at how that list is built and the draft concessions that are provided and access to players, I think that will be something that we'll look at is a team that can be competitive from day dot. A couple more before I let you go, there's a bit of talk here in local footy with the state league finishing up at the end of the season. A couple of clubs in the north that are a bit hesitant about going back to regional footy. What's your message to them, and is it the right thing to be doing, getting rid of the statewide league? Look, this is a piece of work that's been going on for a fair bit of time. I think particularly with Tassie the league up there, the NTFA, and I think that's great for footy and Tasmania. And we want as many boys and girls, men and women to be able to play, and to be playing at the highest level you can. And I think for next year, 2025 will be in your regional competitions, but for the top end of that talent, there'll be the VFL side look forward to in 2026. And I think we'll also have, I don't want to get ahead of anything, but I think what has been really good the last couple of years in Tassie is that rep footy against AFL Queensland, which we had last weekend, game against AFL New South Wales in a couple of weeks, and maybe an enhanced rep program might be part of 2025 for us. This is a team people have been waiting decades for. Do you feel the pressure yourself to get this right from day one? Yeah, a little bit, but I think it's a great thing to be involved in. No, and I feel absolutely fortunate for my tenure as part of my tenure at the AFL will be, in my role will be, you know, bringing about or helping with the establishment of the Tassie Devils and, you know, being there in 2028 seeing him play their first game. And just finally, what's the biggest challenge you think we need to overcome ahead of 2028? For the Tassie Devils, I look, I think they're numerous. I wouldn't want to pick one because it's, I mean, I think it is what it is. It's a really tough competitive competition. So, and I'm not just, I know no one would be underestimating it, but things are all looking really good. But there will be, there'll be twists and turns along the way. So just everyone, you know, come along for the ride. It's going to be really great. Andrew Dillon, great to see you in Tasmania. I think we'll see a bit more of you in the coming years. So yeah, great to see you again. And thanks so much for joining us here on The Devil's Advocate. Yeah, thanks for having me, Brenton. Thank you so much for all your support of The Devil's. We really appreciate it. My absolute pleasure. Thanks Andrew, Andrew Dillon, joining us in the studio for The Devil's Advocate. Today, we're off to our next break. Right after this, we're coming back with Tasmania Football Royal to you, and Robert Shaw joins us here on The Devil's Advocate.