AFLW The Steering Committee

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May 26, 2017
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Uruguayana, RS (BRA)
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Port Adelaide
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I haven’t seen comments on this:


It looks like a sub-Board of Directors for the AFLW team. But I have more questions than answers (if any) on how it would work and its composition.

I also have some prejudices of my own that harm my capacity of properly judging this.
 
Last edited:
I haven’t seen comments on this:


It looks like a sub-Board of Directors for the AFLW team. But I have more questions than answers (if any) on how it would work and its composition.

I also have some prejudices of my own that harm my capacity of properly judging this.
Imagine starting an AFL team or a national team in the EPL or Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A from scratch? Not setting it up to go into amateur or semi amateur league first, but straight into the national league. You would set up a series of working committees if you had 10-12 months to get ready for your debut game. Those working committees would be more useful than the board, but would have to liaise with the board.
 
May 26, 2017
20,818
42,874
Uruguayana, RS (BRA)
AFL Club
Port Adelaide
Other Teams
Grêmio, DC United, Pistons
Imagine starting an AFL team or a national team in the EPL or Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A from scratch? Not setting it up to go into amateur or semi amateur league first, but straight into the national league. You would set up a series of working committees if you had 10-12 months to get ready for your debut game. Those working committees would be more useful than the board, but would have to liaise with the board.
Ok. Now, we have a board. Will there be also working committees?
 

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Ok. Now, we have a board. Will there be also working committees?
I suspect there will be this committee and a few others in both the setting up phase and ongoing.

The club has a lot of committees who help to assist with the running of the club, long before we got an AFL or AFLW licence. From the 2019 Yearbook (hard copy, I haven't downloaded the online 2020 copy), when KT was still CEO and was published early 2020. The first person mentioned is the chairperson of that committee.

Football Strategic Committee - Kevin Osborn deputy chair, Darren Cahill - board member, Gavin Wanganeen ex player and board member and last played 2006, Domenic Cassisi ex captain and last played in 2014, KT and CD.

Chairman's Committee - Koch, Osborn, and Cardone from the board and KT. There is a Chairman's Club where about 40 members pay $10+k and have regular meetings with this committee. It's these wealthy members who have contributed $$$, industry know how as well as time and advice on the redevelopment of the Port Club, building the Museum, the new retail outlet and helped to fund the new high performance facilities.

Integrity Committee - Amanda Vanstone resigned from the board in early 2020 at end of her 7th year on the board, was ex federal minister for Education as well as Health and Sport and a couple of other portfolios, left politics in 2007 but was on the Founding Board of WADA as Australia's representative as she was minister for sport at the time. David O'Donovan was an ex senior policeman, Kevin Osborn, KT and CD.

Finance & Audit Committee - 2 board directors who have an accounting background Trevor Thiele and Kevin Osborn, CFO Shane Smith (now COO) KT, Richo and 4 other finance professionals.

Governance Committee - board member Jamie Restas who is the commercial lawyer on the board, I played footy with him at Adelaide Uni, and board members Trevor Thiele and Kevin Osborn, KT and Shane Smith and 2 other people I don't anything about.

Player Welfare Committee - Holly Ransom from the board, CD, Michael Voss, John Hinge and Paul Stewart who were player welfare officers, Ian McKeown our then head of high performance and Paul Vandenbergh.

Brand & Marketing Committee - Cos Cardone and Holly Ransom from the board, marketing guru David Bonnin, Fishing Rick from Big Footy, KT, Richo, media head Daniel Norton, commercial partners head James Lindsay, events manager Tara Mcleod and 3 other marketing professionals I don't know anything about.

Life Membership & Awards Committee, Brian Fairclough who played junior grades and was coach of junior and reserves teams for about 35 years, and a whole lot of ex players, contributors to the club, as well as Richo and former membership guru at the club, Ben Demertzis.

So I would expect the club to either add to these committees and/or add people who have an AFLW focus to these committees. It might be wiser to have AFLW specific committees these next 11 months and maybe the first couple of years and then fully integrate them to the existing committees.
 
May 26, 2017
20,818
42,874
Uruguayana, RS (BRA)
AFL Club
Port Adelaide
Other Teams
Grêmio, DC United, Pistons
RussellEbertHandball, I believe that it will depend, first and foremost, on the degree of autonomy that the AFLW Board will have.

Besides, some of those committees may make more sense if unified (Player Welfare?); and others, if separated (Football Strategic?). The club needs to make these decisions.

---

Now, how about the make-up of the board itself, and what should we expect from it?
 
RussellEbertHandball, I believe that it will depend, first and foremost, on the degree of autonomy that the AFLW Board will have.

Besides, some of those committees may make more sense if unified (Player Welfare?); and others, if separated (Football Strategic?). The club needs to make these decisions.

---

Now, how about the make-up of the board itself, and what should we expect from it?
There wont be a separate board, as the AFLW team will sit within the legal structure of the PAFC Limited. We have 3 women on the board currently and maybe it might go to 4 in time to reflect having an ex AFLW player on the board.

The trick will be a full integration of the women's players coaches and staff into the whole club. It will take a while but the other 14 teams who have an AFLW team seems to have managed it OK. I've seen it done at my old amateur footy club and whilst it has changed the club a little, it has been a positive move, and they have 6 men's teams and 3 women's teams.
 
May 26, 2017
20,818
42,874
Uruguayana, RS (BRA)
AFL Club
Port Adelaide
Other Teams
Grêmio, DC United, Pistons
I didn’t say that. My words were:



It’s different.
My bad. That's why I talk about committees. They have been around for many decades.
 

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