ANDREW Demetriou has used the AFL's season launch to move on from the dramas of 2013, saying he won't "dwell on the past".
The League's chief executive, who this week confirmed the 2014 season would be his final at the helm, said on Wednesday night he was intent on leaving the game in a healthy position.
Speaking at the revamped Adelaide Oval, which will be the city's football home from 2014, Demetriou said the ground showed the strengths of the AFL.
Watch the AFL's season launch video
Watch the AFL's season launch video
"It's about a vision, it's about teamwork, it's about overcoming adversity, it's about community, it's about not giving up no matter the stresses and strains and history fighting back against you," Demetriou said.
"The AFL will always be like this: think of the past years, and spread that into the future.
"I don't intend to dwell on the past. The future's what the AFL's all about."
But Demetriou did find a moment to reflect on his first speech as an AFL administrator, back in 2000 as the AFL's football operations manager.
After the 2013 season was dogged by the Essendon supplements saga, Demetriou was confident the competition could overcome those issues this year.
"As I said in that initial speech, 'poor decisions can have enormous impact on the game, on all of us' and that was surely true in 2013," Demetriou said.
"I'm not about to brush that under the carpet: many people made poor decisions, and the game was surely impacted, but I know that many people have also made great decisions – through 2013, since 2013 – to make sure that the game will win out, and it will be celebrated by its fans, without sense of misgiving, or delusion, or distrust.
"I am not denying the role of the CEO in any organisation is an important one, but CEOs come and go – great institutions remain forever, and the AFL is a great institution, getting better all the time.
"We cannot amend the past, but we can surely shape the future, and that has always been the approach of the AFL Commission, and the executive."
Demetriou also revealed the key points of the AFL's agenda in 2014, including the determination to maintain the integrity of the game, as well as find new pathways for administrators and coaches to enter the football environment.
