AFL CEO speaks on father-son picks, Opening Round, representative footy and more

AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon had a far-ranging chat with the team from SEN’s Crunch Time on a multitude of issues facing the game.

From the debate around how fair the father-son picks are within the competition, whether Opening Round has been successful in its mission and the possibility of representative footy on either a national or international level returning, Dillon and the Crunch Time team covered it all.

Here’s what was discussed.

Father-Son picks

Gerard Whatley: "How do you keep the balance of the father-son in check?"

Andrew Dillon: "It’s such a good question, and then when you see players of the ilk of Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy to name two.

“That’s why the footy team and the AFL spend a lot of time with the clubs last year, looking at the bidding system and making sure that if we are going to have those compromises to the draft.

“And the access is that the price is paid, and I think we have come a long way towards that with the work we did last year.

“But it’s continually under review.”

WHATELEY: "What would say about the level of unrest from various clubs?"

DILLON: “I think when we brought the changes in last year, and they take affect this year,

“I would say that there isn’t a huge level of unrest, but there is a lot of interest from the clubs in that and also the (northern) academies and the Next Generation academies.

“And that’s something we’re always keeping an eye on because, the equalisation of the competition is so important to the success.”

WHATELEY: "Is the juice worth the squeeze on the father son? Are you a dedicated father son man?"

DILLON: “I’m dedicated to an equalised competition,” he said.

“I think the father son, there is something different about it and I think it is a good different.”

Opening Round

WHATELEY: "Does the status of the league deserve a more impactful start to the season that what Opening Round is giving us?"

DILLON: "I think Opening Round and it’s only two seasons in and this year is sort of hard to judge because we did have the weather events up there in Queensland.

"What it does do, is absolutely shines a light on football in New South Wales and Queensland and we see increased interest in the game in those two states a lot earlier that what it would have been traditionally.

"So, we see increases in memberships year on year and we have seen that for all four clubs, two years in a row.

"We’ve seen basically sell-outs crowds in the six matches that we have played, we’ve seen great TV ratings nationally and then as importantly the Round One 2024 and Round One 2025 are the two highest attended rounds we have ever had.

"So, objectively it’s been an absolute success but that doesn’t mean that stays forever. We’re always reviewing and looking at what the best thing and were not deaf to feedback from the fans or others.

WHATELEY: "Did you watch the Moomba parade on Labour Day and think it would a good afternoon to go to the footy?"

DILLON: "You could do that. But you know, the Birdman Rally has got a lot of fans as well.

WHATELEY: "Does (Opening Round) suffer in comparison to Vegas which gives the NRL a huge pop to start its season?"

DILLON: "Look, I think the NRL and Vegas gives it a huge pop"

"But as I said, the numbers that are coming through the gate at the AFL games which is something really important for us.

"As I said, the two highest ever attended rounds have been the rounds after the Opening Round and the six games that we have had have been at 95% capacity.

"So, I think we get a really good start, the viewership we have for the two games we had this year were records for a Sunday afternoon, the GWS v Collingwood game, so there’s a lot to like about.

Representative Football

Sam Edmund: "Whether it be Indigenous All-Stars, State of Origin, International Rules, the GAA were here in September for Grand Final weekend," he said.

"Have you got a party in Ireland at the moment for more talks on what this might look like going forward?"

DILLON: "We had some really productive discussions back in September with the President of the GAA who was out here."

"And Josh Mahony from our footy department along with Ned Guy are in Ireland this week.

"And we’ll be continuing those discussions with the GAA about the potential for the revitalisation of International Rules for the men and also looking at what are the opportunities for representative football for our AFLW players as well.

EDMUND: "Will that happen next year?"

DILLON: "It could, it’s certainly on the agenda."

"I think the important thing for us is probably two or three-fold.

"Number one is making sure that we put on something that is attractive for our players and clubs to buy into.

"Number two, finding a spot in the calendar that works for everyone.

"So that’s the two things were looking at and I think if you get the players to buy in and we find the right spot then the fans will follow."

For more of the interview with Andrew Dillion which includes discussion around Tasmania’s draft concessions & list and more on equalization, listen below.