Movers and Shapers is back for 2021.
Following an unprecedented 2020 AFL season, the AFL Record's senior writer Ash Browne has put together his definitive footy power list.
We will be counting down from 50 to 1 in the lead up to the new season.
See Movers and Shapers 50-41 HERE
See Movers and Shapers 40-31 HERE
See Movers and Shapers 30-21 HERE
20. Daisy Pearce
AFLW captain, Melbourne FC, broadcaster and commentator
Last year: 27
Pearce was an inspiration to so many women (and more men than would dare to admit) when she returned to the playing field in 2020 after giving birth to twins Sylvie and Roy in 2019. Now in her 30s, she’s no longer a dominant midfielder, but remains the smartest player in the competition, which she uses to great effect as a rebounding defender for the Demons. Her deep game awareness comes to the fore weekly on SEN and Channel Seven where she has become a respected match analyst during the men’s competition.
19. Craig Hutchison
Chief Executive Officer, Sports Entertainment Network, TV host, podcaster
Last year: 13
Some deft thinking from Hutchison helped SEN negotiate a difficult period, with the live broadcast rights to so many sports curtailed for much of the year. When footy resumed, most of the AFL season, which his company broadcasts primarily through SEN 1116 and AFL Nation, was called from a studio. The AFL Record continued publishing through the shutdown period in a digital-only format and returned to a printed edition, with modifications, once the games resumed, with distribution through newsagents as well as at the grounds. SEN now has its tentacles deep into many sports, but it is footy that remains central to its DNA.
18. Stuart Fox
Chief executive, Melbourne Cricket Club
Last year: –
The MCG was ready for a bumper AFL season in 2020 with new LED lights, new sound system and a refurbished Australian Sports Museum. Instead it hosted nine games over the first five rounds, all played behind closed doors. Crowds cautiously returned to the MCG for the Boxing Day Test match, but for Fox and his team, the challenge will be to manage the weekly cycle of AFL footy with up to three matches a weekend, with reduced capacity for many of them and major COVID-safe requirements for those who attend. Fans are itching to get back to the home of football, but the match-day experience needs to safe and hassle-free.
17. Craig Kelly
Chief executive, TLA Australia
Last year: 14
Kelly’s influence in the AFL reaches far and wide. TLA manages many of the elite players in the AFL, including the two most recent Brownlow winners, Nat Fyfe and Lachie Neale. Several coaches and many high-profile media members also come under his umbrella. Throw in various commercial partnerships with the AFL and the NAB League (which didn’t get off the ground last year) and the ties between TLA and the sport are as deep as ever. Kelly has long been touted as a future Collingwood president (he is a 200-game player, including the 1990 premiership team) but the emergence of his son Will as a promising key forward for the Pies has ruled him out of the running for the vacant position.
16. Brian Walsh
General Manager of Corporate Affairs, Government and Communications, AFL
Last year: 22
One of the best decisions made by Gillon McLachlan was to bring the highly-regarded Walsh back to the League after an earlier stint as head of communications. The AFL’s messaging throughout 2020 was critical, be it ‘18 teams in and 18 teams out’, ‘respect the science and don’t second guess government and health authorities’ and ‘footy is a game but not the biggest game’ and they pretty much nailed it every time. Walsh and his team also oversaw the massive logistical exercise of relocating groups of journalists to Queensland hubs from around the country and for introducing virtual post-match media conferences, given that so many matches were covered by journalists off TV rather than at the games.
15. Alastair Clarkson
Senior coach, Hawthorn FC
Last year: 5
His team might not be much good at present, but the four-time premiership coach’s ability to move the needle was amply demonstrated last year after his Hawks laid 69 tackles against North Melbourne in round four without winning a single free kick. It led to scathing remarks from Clarkson post-game, which then led to a tighter interpretation of the holding-the-ball rule for the rest of the season. Clarkson’s Hawks are now a team in transition and, with a smaller coaching staff, the one-time school teacher is relishing rolling up his sleeves, getting his hands dirty and working with his emerging talent.
14. Brendon Gale
Chief executive, Richmond FC
Last year: 12
Gale can’t be accused of under-delivering. In 2010, not long after taking over, he promised that by 2020, the Tigers would have won their 13th premiership, have the strongest supporter base in the nation, the best emotional connection with their fans and be debt-free. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. He charted the Tigers superbly through stormy waters last year and they emerged with that 13th premiership that will take some topping as the most satisfying and hard won of the lot. There is plenty of work ahead at Punt Rd, which is about to undergo a major redevelopment, but the former Tiger forward and AFLPA boss remains the industry favourite to eventually replace Gillon McLachlan as AFL CEO.
13. Annastacia Palaszczuk
Queensland Premier
Last year: –
It took barely five minutes of a memorable phone call for Palaszczuk to agree to a request from Gillon McLachlan for the AFL to relocate to Queensland in order to save the season. She didn’t demand the Grand Final as a thank you, but she got it anyway. Palaszczuk always understood that she was ‘safeguarding’ the game while Victoria was ailing and her lack of grandstanding meant the Herald Sun, Melbourne’s footy baby, referred to her as ‘Queen Annastacia’. In his address at the official function before the Grand Final, which was held the week before the Queensland state election, McLachlan said, “I reckon you could win the Victorian election next week as well, if one was being held.” The legacy of footy moving to Queensland has already led to an increase in spending by both the government and the League on game development and supporting infrastructure, and with the 2032 Olympics on their way to Brisbane, it would be surprising if there haven’t already been discussions with the AFL about tipping some money into the development of a new major stadium in exchange for some sort of tenancy once the Games are over.
12. Damien Hardwick
Senior coach, Richmond FC
Last year: 21
Is it time for the discussion, as in whether Hardwick has surpassed his great mate Alastair Clarkson as the best coach in the competition? Three flags in four years, all coming since the Hawks’ last triumph, and the 2020 flag the toughest of the lot. The troubles Hardwick and the Tigers went through have been well-documented, especially the self-doubt and anxiety Hardwick first felt when COVID-19 precautions dictated the game’s shutdown. For a while there, he was in a dark, dark place. But he snapped out of his funk, after a stern talking to from others at the club and, despite a few more hiccups once they got there, the relocation to Queensland proved to be the ideal platform to win yet another flag. Hardwick is at the top of his game both tactically and as a leader of men.
11. Patrick Delany
Chief Executive Officer, Foxtel
Last year: 10
It took the AFL’s pay-TV partner that bit longer to rework its deal with the AFL and it wasn’t until just before last Christmas that the League, Foxtel and Telstra signed off a new deal that added two more years – 2023 and 2024 – to an arrangement that would add a further $946m to the AFL’s coffers. Foxtel’s grip on the AFL’s streaming rights were strengthened, with live games no longer available on the Telstra-owned and operated AFL Live app, and Kayo now the exclusive streaming carrier of live AFL games. Delany had initially been in no hurry to redo the deal, but with streaming services Amazon Prime (swimming) and Stan (rugby) eyeing off live sporting rights, he decided to jump back in to secure one of the most prized possessions on Australian TV.
See Movers and Shapers 50-41 HERE
See Movers and Shapers 40-31 HERE
See Movers and Shapers 30-21 HERE
See the Top 10 on Thursday, March 18
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