Kind of fascinating position given that St.Kilda have the two picks before our Pick 9.
Fair to say that we are likely to get insight into who St.Kilda are targetting at 7 and 8.
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An old article giving a bit of insight into Bains' background. If he can tap further into the Western Suburbs multicultural population it could really set us up for the future.
Saint Bains' journey to the top a lesson for all
ST KILDA list manager Ameet Bains describes his background as "a little bit unconventional compared to most people in footy".
He's talking about his experiences in law and business, which eventually led him to the Saints, but he could easily be referencing his Indian heritage.
With the AFL celebrating Multicultural Round this week, players like Nic Naitanui, Bachar Houli and Lin Jong have promoted inclusion and diversity in the game.
Off the field, Bains has been setting a similar – albeit less public – example since he was appointed the Saints' general manager player list and legal affairs in January 2011.
His high standing at St Kilda is a testament to the value clubs can find by looking outside the AFL industry.
"You don't tend to see a lot of [diversity] in AFL football departments, which I don't believe is a deliberate thing, it's just the way it's evolved," Bains told AFL.com.au.
"I'd certainly hope with appointments like mine that will change over time."
Bains, 36, was born and raised in regional city Bendigo, 150km north of Melbourne, and grew up on a diet of football in winter and cricket in summer.
He first flew to India when he was six months old and says he has been fortunate to return to the country frequently, getting to know his extended family well and marrying wife Catherine there.
"I'm very much Australian and grew up in country Victoria, but I’ve also retained that strong Indian cultural link by visiting India a lot and having a lot of family back there," Bains said.
"That strong sense of family and family values are pretty important to me … things we've been taught from a young age like self respect, respect for others and tolerance.
"They're things that are important in a recruiting sense with some of the boys that we look at [drafting]."
Bains fell in love with Australian Football from a young age and would travel to Melbourne often to watch his father's beloved Hawthorn play.
Reflecting on his time as a player – he played with the Old Melburnians and Monash Blues in the VAFA until 2010 – he says the game wasn't close to being as diverse growing up as it is in 2014.
"I think that's reflective of Australian society," he said.
"We've become more and more diverse over time, particularly a city like Melbourne, and footy reflects that.
"Even in the recruiting space, if you go to games now and watch TAC Cup or school footy you can see a lot of different faces and a lot of different names, which certainly wasn't the case back then."
Just as Bains' cultural heritage is somewhat unique in the AFL system, so too was his professional path into the game having graduated from Monash University with a double degree in law and banking/finance.
He spent five years as a lawyer with firm Minter Ellison before moving to Toyota, where he was employed as an in-house lawyer and worked closely with sporting clubs and administrations, particularly the AFL.
He says he was fortunate St Kilda was looking for a list manager ahead of the 2011 season who could combine the traditional aspects of the role with a legal background.
Bains is back working closely with the AFL in 2014 as part of the League's drive to attract new fans and players to the game from different cultural backgrounds – particularly the local Indian, Chinese, African and Middle East communities.
He is optimistic about what can be achieved by promoting diversity in Australian football.
"My hope is that the AFL’s multicultural programs will be the genesis for many new Australians to emerge in our game, both as players and administrators," he said.
Can't wait to meet Ameet.
I'm sorry, I'll see myself out.
Our new CEO talking on SEN today.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2017/10/...ogs-challenge/
Quality family, quality person. I've known his family for nearly 30 years.
Ameet Bains takes over as CEO of AFL club Western Bulldogs today
Ameet Bains has been associated with Australian Rules Football ever since he was a child - he was an avid player as he grew up in Bendigo and followed the game with passion. He is now the first person of Indian origin to be appointed CEO of any elite sporting club in any major Australian sporting code.
Speaking to SBS Punjabi he said, "My family came to live in Bendigo in the 1970s and I'm very lucky that my father developed a love for footy very early on. I know a lot of Indian migrants find it hard to adapt to the game, but in my case we went to many AFL matches and I played a lot of footy growing up."
Until recently, he continued playing as an amateur - all the while supporting Carlton as his chosen AFL team.
Ameet Bains, who has previously worked for St Kilda FC for seven years
Seven years ago, he swapped Carlton's blue footy jumper to red and black, when he began working for St Kilda Football Club; today, on 11 December 2017, he is happily embracing another change, since he officially begins duties at AFL club Western Bulldogs as their CEO.
"This is a very exciting time to be joining Western Bulldogs," said Ameet. "They won the premiership in 2016 and have capitalised on it very well this year."
"AFL has actively encouraged participation from multicultural and indigenous communities for a few years now, and teams like Essendon have made a concerted outreach in the Indian / Punjabi community by running the Aus Kick program at Craigieburn Gurudwara."
"Now that I'm at Western Bulldogs, I hope to attract our community living in areas like Tarneit, Hoppers Crossing and Pt Cook, to AFL in larger numbers."
He also spoke of the possibility of hosting AFL fixtures in India sometime in the near future, similar to the scheduling of fixtures in China currently.
"I think it should be a lot easier to host games in India, because of the cricket grounds there, and the natural affiliation Indians have for all sports."
He encouraged everyone in the multicultural communities to participate more in AFL.
"There are more and more opportunities now for young boys and girls to get involved in footy - as a player, as a supporter and even to build a career within the AFL."
"I have a son and a daughter and each of them knows there are elite competitions they can participate in, as they grow."
"I think AFL is a great sport - more than anything it's fun. But also, since I've played it a lot, it's a great team sport that teaches you life skills like leadership, dealing with other people and working in a team."
Hehe. Red and black? Good old Sainters!Quote:
red and black, when he began working for St Kilda Football Club
Good luck Ameet.
Ameet, coming up on SEN and will discuss Dahl and more.
What will Dahlhaus net Dogs?
THE Western Bulldogs are expecting an end of first round compensation pick for Luke Dahlhaus, declaring a “benchmark” was set last year with Geelong’s Steven Motlop.
The Cats got Pick 19 as compensation when free agent Motlop deflected to Port Adelaide last year on a four-year contract.
Dahlhaus is 26 years old – the same age Motlop was – and has reportedly been offered a four-year deal by Geelong.
“It’s a difficult one given the formula’s not publicly known and I suppose we don’t know with the compensation that’s been awarded historically what the numbers and dollars have been,” Western Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains said on SEN radio.
“But there’s been some noise in the last 24 hours of Luke’s deal potentially being similar to Steven Motlop’s last year so if that is indeed the case I suppose a benchmark has been set last year.
“If it’s similar to that then we’d be expecting something similar in return.”
Bains said the club did not want to lose Dahlhaus and could potentially have kept the 2016 premiership player had it made a four-year offer but had other things to consider.
“There was a possibility but in terms of the list management decisions that a club needs to make in the context of free agency, we’re balancing the needs and wants of 44 players on our list and that always has to be the prevailing position for the club,” Bains said.
“I don’t think you’re ok (with it) because we obviously wanted him to stay and we had a multi-year contract on the table but you ultimately come to a decision point where you need to understand how far you’re willing to go and in the situation it means Luke isn’t staying with us.”
That puts it into perspective about list management and good on the club to stick by its guns . List management is about what’s needed 2 or 3 years down the track.
Social media fans are going nuts about losing him but don’t when it happens to other clubs, works both ways and as much as it’s sad to see it’s the nature of the beast.
In hindsight Dahlhaus isn’t someone who will be hard to replace and maybe we see Rhylee west as the replacement coming in anyway.
I see it as good list management on a player getting offered overs to prize him out.
We will win on this one I have no doubt.
We haven’t lost in many at all lately even though the Stringer thing was regarded as a loss at the time, at worst we have come out better off , a rookie replacement who probably delivered the same Jake this year.
You can listen to the interview here