THE THIRD edition of AFL Media's Movers and Shapers Survey is out and it reveals there are some new major players in the game.
Two themes have emerged in 2018. The number of AFL commissioners on the list is the greatest ever, while the birth of AFLW has helped grow the number of women on the list to an all-time high of eight.
All up, there are 16 new members of the top 50 this year.
The survey took place towards the end of last year and those who voted were drawn from the ranks of the AFL, the clubs, the media, player management, stadia and state leagues.
Catch up on the rest of the 2018 rankings:
50. Tony Shepherd
Greater Western Sydney chairman; Sydney Cricket Ground Trust chairman
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
Sydney is in the midst of a stadium battle, with up to $1.6 billion committed to the redevelopment of both ANZ and Allianz stadiums. It means within a few years the two best stadiums in Sydney will be rectangular and unsuited to host AFL games. The SCG with its 48,000 capacity will be the largest AFL venue in New South Wales. Shepherd is well regarded in NSW business and government circles as well as in football and certainly the Giants have made huge strides in their six seasons in the AFL and enter 2018 as one of the flag favourites. Last summer as the controversy swirled over the poor performance of the MCG's drop-in pitches during the Ashes, Shepherd said that there were no plans for the SCG to go down the same path, but there are some in cricket not yet totally convinced, given his ties to the AFL.
49. Bec Goddard
Adelaide AFLW coach
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
Her achievement in masterminding the inaugural AFLW premiership with a playing squad split between Adelaide and Darwin was one of the greatest coaching feats in any sport in 2017. "In terms of leadership and culture, she's the benchmark," said one women's football identity. The flag was nice for Goddard, but almost an afterthought because she has been playing the long game from the start. She was pencilled in for a 15-minute presentation with the AFL Commission last year, but spoke so well that she ended up talking to them for an hour.
48. Majak Daw
North Melbourne ruckman/defender; influencer
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
You may ask why someone with just 30 games for North Melbourne in eight years makes a list such as this. But Daw is the first player from the Sudanese community to play AFL football and a giant – literally and figuratively – of that community. And as long as he remains on North's list, and with the exposure that comes with it, he will help convince young men and women of that community, many of whom are talented athletes, to make Australian football their game of choice. With two years still remaining on his contract, he will remain an important ambassador for the game for some time yet.
Majak Daw is a massive influence on the Sudanese community. Picture: AFL Photos
47. Daniel Andrews
Victorian Premier
Previously: 2016: 33; 2017: -
There are 300 million reasons why Andrews is a key football stakeholder. That's about the sum the AFL is seeking (with a commitment by the League to match it dollar for dollar) from the Victorian Government for a comprehensive refurbishment of Etihad Stadium. Negotiations are ongoing and helped by the excellent working relationship between AFL boss Gillon McLachlan and both Andrews (an Essendon supporter) and state treasurer Tim Pallas (a big Bulldogs man). The proposed Etihad revamp is now a political issue, with Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy saying that if elected later this year, he would scrap any deal between the government and the league and direct the funds instead to grassroots football.
46. Mark Evans
Gold Coast Suns chief executive
Previously: 2016: 6; 2017: 3
Evans took over at Metricon Stadium on the eve of last season after several years as the AFL's general manager of football. He watched on for a bit and then rang the changes. In the last six months, Evans has appointed a new senior coach (Stuart Dew), football boss (John Haines) and list manager (Craig Cameron). The Suns face a difficult year on the football front, with a developing playing list that has to go on the road for the first nine games of the year because their home ground is unavailable due to the Commonwealth Games. But the biggest item for Evans this year is keeping uncontracted key forward Tom Lynch at the club. Cashed-up Victorian clubs are coming hard at the gun forward and Evans simply has to find a way to keep him at the Suns.
45. Leigh Matthews
Channel 7 and 3AW commentator
Previously: 2016: 11; 2017: 35
'Lethal' doesn't quite boast the audience he used to. He is several years removed from Friday Night Football, but still commentates on Sunday afternoon games on Seven and also on 3AW. However, his authority remains. Few talk about the game with as much clarity as Matthews and when the playing and coaching legend offers an opinion on the state of the game it is always worth listening to. He remains a director of Brisbane, happily hands-off from the football side of things as Chris Fagan and David Noble reshape the club.
Leigh Matthews' authority within the game remains significant. Picture: AFL Photos
44. Brian Taylor
Channel 7 and Triple M commentator
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
Credit where it is due. Taylor was handed the plum assignment calling Friday Night Football alongside Bruce McAvaney last year and he handled himself with aplomb, cutting back on the banality that often marked his previous Saturday night commentary. But his best work came after the final siren with 'Roaming Brian', 10 minutes or so of free-form, unscripted, live TV where he walked the floor of the winning dressing room speaking to whoever was in his line of sight. You can imagine player managers ringing their player each Friday morning with strict instructions to get themselves on the telly if they could. It could be the start of something.
43. Andrew Ireland
Sydney chief executive and managing director
Previously: 2016: - 2017: 25
Ireland will retire at the end of the season, having made an enormous contribution to footy, firstly as a rugged Collingwood defender, but more importantly as a chief executive of both Brisbane and then the Swans who has helped deliver premierships at both clubs. Footy in the frontier states has been in great hands for more than 25 years. "He's pragmatic, he listens to people and treats them properly. He is universally respected," said one AFL executive. Before handing the reins to Tom Harley, his final job will be to secure a new training and administrative base for the Swans. They're outgrowing the SCG but want to remain wedded to their heartland in the east of the city. This will be his legacy project.
42. Garry Lyon
SEN Breakfast host and commentator, Fox Footy commentator
Previously 2016: - 2017: 46
Lyon resumed his place in the footy media world in 2017 as host of the SEN breakfast show, which rated only modestly, and returned to his former roles fronting Footy Classified and AFL.com.au's Access All Areas. But he ramps things up this year with hosting and commentating duties on Fox Footy, which brings his 20-year association with Nine to a close. Had he ever had the urge, he would have made a fine AFL coach, and his strength as a commentator is to quickly identify what is taking place on the ground and what needs to happen next. He'll be a great get for Fox Footy.
41. Kim Williams
AFL commissioner
Previously: 2016: 32; 2017: -
You can't have enough knowledge of the media, and even though Williams is now a few years removed from his long career with News Limited and Foxtel, he gets how the media works and knows its key players. The thing about the media rights discussions is whereas once the deal was done and the AFL could then put it to bed for a few years, the rapid rate of change in the media sector (streaming video, Facebook, Netflix et al) means the shape of the AFL's next agreement is already being tossed around. It will have already been noted by the AFL that the English Premier League recently sold some of its TV rights for about 10 per cent less than before. Williams also likes to poke and prod around the commission table, making sure the executive and fellow commissioners have considered every angle before reaching a decision. "His intelligence is off the charts," said one AFL senior manager, who himself is known for being about the smartest person in the organisation.
AFL commissioner Kim Williams' knowledge of the medis is exceptional. Picture: AFL Photos
40. Andrew Fagan
Adelaide Football Club chief executive
Previously: 2016: - 2017: 45
The Crows are such a powerful brand – one of the largest institutions of all in South Australia and in the AFL – and Fagan helps drive it. The Crows have crunched the numbers and will keep their training and administration base at the soon-to-be-dismantled Football Park, and given they pay no rent, why would they consider moving? But they have angered some of their supporters by not establishing some sort of supporter hub close to Adelaide Oval to replicate The Shed, the facility their fans enjoyed frequenting on match days at their old home ground. With an active digital presence and their foray into esports, the Crows are making a good fist of staying ahead of the curve. Heaven knows how much cash they'll reap if they go one better this year and win the premiership.
39. Erin Phillips
Co-captain Adelaide, AFLW
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
All Erin Phillips did at age 31 in 2017, her first season of competitive football since her primary school days, was step off the basketball court after a decorated career at representative level and in the WNBA, and dominate. She won Adelaide's best and fairest and both the AFLW best and fairest medal and the AFLW Players' Most Valuable Player Award. She was also the co-captain of Adelaide's premiership team. The picture of her kissing wife Tracy Gahan after winning the AFLW best and fairest went viral and played a part in the 'vote yes' campaign that overwhelmingly won the same sex marriage plebiscite held in Australia late last year. "A true game-changer," said one commentator. "She has played a huge role in equality in sport and has given hope to young people battling with their sexuality."
38. Ken Wood
Manager, TPP assurance and advice (investigations manager, AFL)
Previously: 2016: 39; 2017: 34
As always, one of the most important people at the AFL, but one who is barely known to the those outside the game. For more than a decade Wood has been the League's salary cap czar, ensuring clubs keep to their limits, and during the player exchange period, ensuring all the trades are kosher. Just a reminder of the sum at hand – according to the AFL's annual report, total player payments across the competition in 2017 came to more than $225 million. It is complicated to calculate and fastidious to maintain, so little wonder Wood and his team, locked away in the closest thing AFL House has to a secure bunker, are so well regarded.
37. Gab Trainor
AFL Commissioner
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
They're a bit reluctant at the AFL to find people just on the basis that they "tick the right boxes" but in Trainor's case that description justly applies. She's from a great football family (her grandfather Frank and father Tony served a combined 22 years as president of North Melbourne), lives in Sydney, has a legal and media background and serves on a number of boards in the corporate sector and with NGOs. Her knowledge and experience with infrastructure, major projects and governance brings an important dimension to the AFL. "She's the full package," said one of her many admirers in the game. "Any board in Australia would love to have her."
36. Kevin Bartlett
SEN broadcaster, AFL legend
Previously: 2016: 19; 2017: 37
If you don't think KB carries serious clout, consider how big a deal it became in the lead-up to last year's Grand Final when it emerged that his beloved Richmond would be forced to wear its clash strip for the game. Bartlett decried the move and as one industry figure observed, "The amount of coverage those comments got shows just how much cut-through he has. You can bag him for his sensationalist, even tabloid views, but he still shapes opinion on a daily basis." Bartlett has surrendered his key 9am slot on SEN to Gerard Whateley, but he and John Rothfield (aka Dr Turf) now broadcast every day from 3-6pm and still have plenty to say. Bartlett resisted all overtures to play a large role before and after last year's Grand Final, preferring instead to watch the game from the stands with his wife, Denise.
35. Dustin Martin
Richmond midfielder, 2017 Brownlow medalist
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
Has any player in League history enjoyed a better season than Martin in 2017? The Tiger won the Brownlow Medal with a record 38 votes (excluding 1976-77 when both umpires voted), which included a record 11 best-on-ground votes. He polled votes in an astonishing 14 games. He then backed up in the Grand Final with 29 possessions, six clearances and two goals to win the Norm Smith Medal. Martin made the Tigers sweat though most of last season before signing a new seven-year deal and if you believe the stories at the time, he was awfully close to joining North Melbourne. In the end, the process was artfully played out by his manager, Ralph Carr. Martin's brilliant season, his good-natured media appearances through September and his raw and honest Brownlow acceptance speech have helped reshape his image and he is now the national face and body of Bonds underwear and apparel, as well as a star of the new Fox Sports TV campaign.
Dustin Martin's profile has grown exponentially in the past year. Picture: AFL Photos
34. Peter Gordon
Chairman and president, Western Bulldogs
Previously: 2016: 20; 2017: 14
The Bulldogs mounted one of the more disappointing premiership defences in recent times last year and missed the finals altogether after their barnstorming triumph the year before. But the club is in a brilliant position off the field and last year eradicated all its remaining bank debt. Gordon remains a voice of conscience on larger football matters and what can't be understated are his connections to the Victorian state government. One of his best mates is Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas, who will have a large say in whether the planned refurbishment of Etihad Stadium and its surrounds takes place, as well as other football-related infrastructure projects both at AFL and grassroots level. His recent spat with former vice-president and club benefactor Susan Alberti has been both unsettling and fascinating.
33. Peter Blunden
Managing director, Herald & Weekly Times
Previously: 2016: 35; 2017: 20
The Herald Sun understands what gets people buying newspapers and refreshing their web browsers – crime, celebrities and footy. Lots of footy. The recipe hasn't changed all that much over the years and the 'back page of the little paper' is one of the first places footy fans go looking for news and information. But there has been an added dimension to the AFL-HWT dimension the last 12 months with dogged, and some would say sensationalist reporting of the departures of senior executives Simon Lethlean and Richard Simkiss from the AFL following inappropriate relationships with female staff members.
32. Chris Scott
Geelong Football Club senior coach
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
Only Alastair Clarkson has been in the same job for longer among the 18 senior coaches (John Longmire started at the Swans in the same year), meaning Scott's opinions count for plenty, and the AFL is more likely to pick up the phone when he calls – particularly in the football operations department, whose new boss, Steve Hocking, worked alongside Scott at the Cats for years. Scott is also the coach of the Australian International Rules team and those near-annual matches allow him to bend the ear of the AFL heavyweights. Along with Clarkson, he attended the Super Bowl in Minneapolis last month, visiting NBA and NFL teams and attending a leadership conference with England's football manager Gareth Southgate and Team Sky boss Sir David Brailsford. On the field, all the elements would seem to be in place for Geelong to make a serious assault on this year's flag, with Gary Ablett's celebrated return to the club meaning the Cats have the most talent-laden midfield in the competition. They'd want to come close, because Geelong fans are as restless as they have been for some time.
Chris Scott's longevity has boosted his influence in the AFL. Picture: AFL Photos
31. Nicole Livingstone
AFL Head of Women's Football
Previously: 2016: - 2017: -
As a genuine high achiever in sport as an Olympic swimmer, broadcaster and administrator, her appointment was hailed by the AFL as a coup. And while she immediately stepped in as a figurehead for the 460,000 women and girls who now play the game, it is too early to tell where her focus will be. It could be operations and strategy focused, or will she be more of a spokesperson and brand ambassador? She would be well suited to both and the football industry is eagerly waiting to see what sort of stamp she starts to put on a part of the game whose growth is so critical to the AFL's agenda.
