AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder to step down after nine-year reign

[Bornadog]

The decision comes after rumblings from a handful of clubs in recent months.
Mitch Cleary
By Mitch Cleary
EXCLUSIVE

AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder will step down from his post in March after a nine-year reign.

7NEWS can reveal Goyder has confided in his inner circle that he won’t be seeking re-election to lead the AFL beyond 2026.

Speculation dating back as far as last year had clubs expecting Goyder to chase another term until at least 2028.

However, he will soon walk away from his AFL tenure that included six years as a Commissioner before he replaced Mike Fitzpatrick as chair in 2017.

Rumblings in recent months indicated a handful of club presidents were considering a move to overthrow Goyder from the top job.

Despite pressure on his position intensifying, Goyder has chaired the Commission’s nominations committee across August-September to find the League’s next chair.

Names heavily linked to succeed him include former Collingwood president Jeff Browne, ex-Western Bulldogs chair Peter Gordon and former Geelong president Craig Drummond.

It is widely viewed that no current commissioners would be in position to replace Goyder.

It’s understood Goyder has told those close to him in recent weeks that the nominations process has opened his eyes to now being the right time to walk away.

Goyder last year stepped down as chair of Qantas.

The League’s nominations committee has also included club presidents John Olsen (Adelaide), Andrew Wellington (Brisbane), Sonja Hood (North Melbourne), Andrew Bassat (St Kilda) and Andrew Pridham (Sydney).

Simone Wilkie and Andrew Ireland joined Goyder from the Commission.

[Bornadog]

Be great if Peter took the role on.

[Sedat]

This bloke literally has done nothing of note during his tenure except tell all the Brownlow attendees every year to "charge your glasses" for the winner

Unfortunately Peter Gordon has no chance if there's a former Geelong pant-sniffer in the field.

[josie]

What does role entail? How much power does it hold? Is it a paid gig or glory type role?

[The Doctor]

Good riddance

[Happy Days]

Putting my hand up for this role btw I love doing nothing and failing upwards.

[GVGjr]

I read that Peter Gordon doesn't have the support from enough of the clubs to get this role

[Axe Man]

Fresh twist in the search for Goyder’s successor as AFL clubs strike back

The search for the next AFL Commission chair has taken another twist after a group of club presidents pushed for the 18 clubs to have a direct say in appointing Richard Goyder’s successor.

Former Western Bulldogs president and respected class action lawyer Peter Gordon is a serious contender for the league’s highest office, while former Collingwood boss Jeff Browne appears to have come back into calculations as a result of the clubs’ push for a direct say in the election of the next commissioner and therefore chairman.

The presidents met on Monday in response to Goyder’s decision to step down in March, with an agreement among a number of them – The Age cannot confirm exactly how many – proposing that the presidents of the 18 clubs interview the four candidates themselves.

Some clubs expressed disappointment that the nominations committee, made up of commissioners and some club representatives, had not reached a consensus, according to competition sources.

The clubs’ proposal would reduce the influence of the commission on the choice of chairman – and likely enhance Browne’s prospects.

The four candidates are former club presidents Browne (Collingwood), Gordon (Western Bulldogs) and Craig Drummond (Geelong), and Peter Allen, the former Essendon director and Scentre Group CEO. Allen has been interviewed by the subcommittee, but is regarded as a long shot to be chairman.

The nominations committee consists of commissioners Goyder, Simone Wilkie and Andrew Ireland, as well as club representatives Andrew Bassat (St Kilda), Sonja Hood (North Melbourne), John Olsen (Adelaide), Andrew Pridham (Sydney) and Andrew Wellington (Brisbane Lions).

Browne had been a strong contender for the chairman’s job before Goyder insisted that the commission make the final call on the appointment.

Browne’s long stint as the AFL’s external legal adviser, coupled with his experience as managing director of Nine Network and later replacing Eddie McGuire as Collingwood president, was viewed as a favourable apprenticeship among some clubs.

Now in his early 70s, he’s taken this year off to concentrate on his health, but did not rule himself out of contention for the top job when asked by The Age in May, nor again at a Collingwood president’s dinner only a few weeks ago.

Drummond, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs JB Were and Medibank Private, is now chairman of Transurban.

Goyder, the former Qantas chairman, had initially indicated he intended to seek another term before handing over to the next chair.

The lack of succession planning at AFL headquarters has been a source of angst among critics, who point to Gillon McLachlan’s protracted farewell as league chief executive under Goyder’s tenure.

The AFL is governed by a commission of 10, which elects a chair from within its own ranks.

The commissioners are chosen by a nominations committee, but once Goyder confirmed his departure, it meant the nominations committee was, in effect, being asked to choose the chair.

Gordon told this masthead in July he would consider any approach to join the commission.

To hear Age football writers Jake Niall, Caroline Wilson and Michael Gleeson detail the “backroom manoeuvres” in the search for the next AFL Commission chair, listen to The Age Real Footy podcast.

[Axe Man]

Historic revolt against Richard Goyder should trigger his immediate departure

Richard Goyder didn’t want him but a historic club revolt has put former Magpies boss Jeff Browne back in the frame to claim footy’s top job. Michael Warner goes inside the four days of drama.

It’s as though Richard Goyder is changing his will by the hour so he can rule from the grave.

But what the scheming AFL commission chairman doesn’t seem to get is that in terms of having any influence (or respect) left with the clubs, he’s already dead.

This week’s historic revolt by angry club presidents and their resolution to block Goyder’s attempts for the commission to choose his successor should trigger his immediate resignation.

But that’s not how Uncle Rich rolls as his force-fed departure from Qantas (the other national icon he helped trash) clearly showed.

AFL commission chairman candidates
Jeff Browne - Former Channel 9 and Collingwood boss who wrote the league’s rules.
Peter Gordon - Two-time Western Bulldogs president and the AFL’s go-to lawyer.
Craig Drummond - Ex-Cats and Goldman Sachs JBWere chair. Now head of Transurban.
Peter Allen - Former Essendon board member and Scentre Group boss.

You’ve got to feel for former Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon, the man whom Goyder enticed into the nominations process in recent weeks as part of his “anyone but Jeff Browne” crusade.

Gordon should have been a serious contender from the start (having saved the AFL’s bacon during the botched Hawthorn racism investigation) but he wasn’t needed until it dawned on Goyder and his dwindling band of loyalists that their push for former Geelong president Craig Drummond wasn’t going to fly.

The late switch to Gordon then entangled poor old Eddie McGuire, the former Magpies boss who must have thought his ticket back to relevance was assured.

“Peter Gordon – absolutely ideal for the position. Jeff Browne – absolutely ideal,” McGuire declared.

A bet each-way or did Mr Switzerland back the wrong horse?

AFL commission nominations committee
Richard Goyder (chair) - AFL commission chairman
Andrew Ireland - AFL commissioner
Simone Wilkie- AFL commissioner
Andrew Bassat - St Kilda president
Andrew Pridham - Sydney chairman
Sonja Hood - North Melbourne president
Andrew Wellington - Brisbane chairman
John Olsen - Adelaide chairman

A majority of clubs have now made it clear they want a direct say in who leads the game - a move that has brought Browne back into the frame.

The turning point came last Friday night at the Geelong-Brisbane match when Goyder chose to dine with Gordon (and Drummond) in the VIP Olympic Room alongside fellow commissioners and bemused club officials.

Browne wasn’t invited and announced his withdrawal from the process that very night.

By Saturday morning a bloc of clubs were preparing to rise up.

One option on the table is for each of the 18 clubs to have their say in the vetting of the four remaining commission candidates from the now disbanded nominations process - Gordon, Browne, Drummond and former Essendon director Peter Allen.

What should have been a smooth transition process has become a debacle and the unmistakable message being delivered by the clubs is that they have finally had enough of Goyder and his games.

AFL commission members
Richard Goyder (chair) - since 2011 . Forced out as chairman of Qantas last year and now on way out of AFL House.
Paul Bassat - since 2012. Wealthy Seek co-founder with brother Andrew and now a partner at Square Peg.
Simone Wilkie - since 2015. Former Australian Army Major General who served in Cambodia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Andrew Newbold - since 2016. Businessman and ex-Hawthorn president.
Gabrielle Trainor - since 2016. Former GWS board member whose grandfather and father were presidents of North Melbourne.
Robin Bishop - since 2017. Founding partner of private equity firm BGH Capital.
Andrew Ireland- since 2023. Veteran Lions and Swans administrator and AFL life member.
Matt de Boer - since 2023. Ex-Giants and Dockers midfielder.
Andrew Dillon - since 2023. The AFL CEO always gets a seat at the commission table.
Denise Bowden - since 2025. Chief executive of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based in the NT.

[jeemak]

So that's the Collingwood newsletter advocating for Browne, or do the clubs genuinely have a problem with Gordon for reasons beyond him being Goyder's preference?