'Not personal': Andrew Dillon outlines new role for embattled Laura Kane amid executive restructure
Updated . First published
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon says the embattled Laura Kane simply had too much work on her plate and claims the reason for effectively halving her workload was not "personal".
The AFL announced on Thursday that it would be appoint a second football boss to sit alongside Kane, effectively halving her responsibilities.
Dillon explained his thinking behind the shake-up, as well as Kane's reduced role.
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"What I wanted was a set-up that allows the AFL to have the best chance of success, and I think by having two football executives on my executive team is really important because ultimately footy is at the heart of every single thing we do," Dillon told SEN on Friday.
"Laura is an incredibly talented executive, and an incredible person. We had a good discussion about it, and she's really excited about what's in the role for her moving forward."
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon. Getty
Under the restructure, Kane will head up football operations, which will include a newly formed health and medical team, and a second football boss will be appointed to look after performance. Both football bosses will sit on the executive team led by Dillon.
Kane will be responsible for the operations of the AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW, as well as the talent league competitions and new health and medical team.
The person set to take on the football performance position will be in charge of the match review officer, umpiring, game analysis, player movement, the laws of the game, innovation and club engagement.
Dillon added that neither he nor Kane considered her departure from the executive as part of the changes.
"No, Laura's got so much to offer the industry and she'll continue to do that," he said.
"She's done a great job, it was a big, big role. Decisions affect people but they're not personal; it's actually about what's the right thing for the AFL, not just for now, because the AFL's in an incredible position at the moment."
Laura Kane, the AFL's football operations boss. via Getty Images
The restructure coincides with the departure of the AFL's long-time general manager of inclusion and social policy, Tanya Hosch, with the league announcing she would finish in her role on June 6.
Hosch's departure will end a rocky period, which culminated in her extraordinary decision to not travel to Darwin for the AFL's launch of the Sir Doug Nicholls rounds this month.
Hosch felt marginalised throughout the Willie Rioli saga, according to a report in The Age published two weeks ago.
Her supporters believe she was understaffed and lacked the resources to make significant change throughout her tenure of almost nine years, while her detractors are critical of her management style and her relationships with Indigenous players.
Hosch began in her role in August 2016, becoming the first Indigenous person and only the second woman to join the AFL's executive ranks.
Tanya Hosch, the AFL's executive general manager of inclusion and social policy. Getty
Outside of Dillon, she is the longest-serving of the AFL's current executives.
"Tanya has been tireless in her work to ensure that inclusion has been a part of everything we have done, from encouraging more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples into the AFL industry, to supporting clubs at all levels of our game to navigate complex social issues and create policies to reduce vilification," Dillon said.
"We have seen the benefit of Tanya's work this year as she was a consistent advocate for and a driving force behind the Indigenous All-Stars game in Perth and her leadership resulted in the AFL attaining gold status in the Pride in Sport awards for the first time — both achieved after years of hard work and advocacy.
"As an industry we are indebted to Tanya for making us better."
Dillon took over from McLachlan as the AFL's chief executive in October 2023.
Dillon and his executive team have come under fire because of their handling of the Noah Balta and Rioli sagas, the Lachie Schultz concussion controversy and generally questionable umpiring, among other issues.
