“We’re wiser than that”: Russell's advice for new AFL leadership

Dwayne Russell isn’t buying AFL CEO Andrew Dillon’s claim that the league’s umpiring is better than it ever has been.

The new AFL boss made the comment at a press conference on Tuesday, adding he “doesn’t understand” the focus on umpiring.

The odd comment caught Russell’s attention, who wonders whether Dillon understands the sheer amount of public scrutiny on him as the successor to Gillon McLachlan.

“I think it’s as good as it has ever been, the umpiring,” Dillon told reporters.

“We’re in the second year of a four-umpire system as well, so we’re on a journey with the four-umpire system, but the competition is so tight.

“I don’t understand why, but there’s always been a focus on umpiring and it’s been around for as long as I’ve been around, but I think because the competition is so tight that maybe there’s an increased focus on the umpiring.”

It’s been a tough year for the AFL on the publicity front, with Dillon, new head of football Laura Kane and new head of scheduling Josh Bowler all being found wanting when discussing key issues in the media.

Kane caused a storm on SEN’s Crunch Time when discussing the Father/Son and Academy rules that could potentially change this year, while Bowler, speaking with Dwayne Russell himself, suggested that Thursday night footy was ditched because there aren’t enough meaningful games in the back-half of the season to warrant it.

It comes as a team like Hawthorn, as low as 13th on the ladder, remains alive for a top eight berth in Round 17.

“My thoughts are – crowds are up right now and the AFL has celebrated some of the most attended rounds of all time this year,” Russell said.

“Crowds are up, TV ratings and viewership are up, more people are watching than ever before, the players are getting paid more than ever before and their pay is about to explode.

“So, the stakes have never been higher. All of this means the stakes gets higher and higher and the scrutiny has never been greater either because of all of this.

“So you can’t get away with anything because the scrutiny is higher than it has ever been.

“And to have a look at the way the game is being run at the moment, you can’t get away with telling people that ‘oh there’s not good enough games for Thursday nights’ – you’re not going to get away with that because there are good enough games for Thursday nights. So don’t tell us there’s not.

“And don’t tell us the umpiring is as good as it’s ever been. You can’t just ask us to believe that. We’re wiser than that. People are watching more footy than ever and the game has never been under more scrutiny and neither have the leaders of the game.”