{"id":290940,"date":"2023-08-30T19:04:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=290940"},"modified":"2023-08-30T19:04:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:04:00","slug":"a-podcaster-a-star-blue-and-a-retired-major-general-first-of-our-top-50-afl-influencers-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-league\/a-podcaster-a-star-blue-and-a-retired-major-general-first-of-our-top-50-afl-influencers-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"A podcaster, a star Blue and a retired major general: First of our top 50 AFL influencers revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>Chloe Saltau<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Credit: <\/span>Marija Ercegovac<\/cite><\/p>\n

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Footy is changing. League supremo Gillon McLachlan will ride into the sunset the day after the AFL grand final. The men\u2019s finals series will feature a galaxy of emerging stars. The AFLW season will showcase a generation of women who are shaking up the footy landscape. Behind the scenes, there is a new establishment making decisions, making their voices heard and influencing what the game will look like, on and off the field, towards 2030. It\u2019s a good time to ask, who are the people who will shape the game over the next decade? We asked a panel of experts from The Age<\/em>, Nine\u2019s Wide World of Sports<\/em> and the Sydney Morning Herald<\/em> to answer this question to come up with the top 50 AFL influencers.<\/p>\n

The criteria:<\/strong> The panel of 10 judges was asked to select people who influence how the AFL and AFLW are played, watched, understood, coached and commercialised. These are people who are either making a difference now, or who will change football in a meaningful way over the next <\/em>decade. They could be players, coaches, administrators, commissioners, agents, club bosses, politicians, businesspeople, lawyers, or media people (the judges were not permitted to select themselves or other journalists).<\/p>\n

Who has the power to bring about change? Who is doing the big commercial deals? Who has a booming profile among younger fans? Who is making a difference to the way Indigenous people in footy are treated? Is there a line coach who is changing an aspect of the game? An AFLW figure changing the way women\u2019s footy is played, perceived or run? Unashamedly, we were striving for diversity in our list.<\/p>\n

Our top 50 will no doubt provoke arguments. You can have your say on contentious inclusions or omissions, or ask our chief football writer Jake Niall a question about the selections by leaving a comment on this article.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

How the judging worked:<\/strong> Each judge picked their own top 20, with votes apportioned in reverse order. So, No.20 was given one vote and No.19 two votes, and so on. From there, we compiled the top 50 based on total votes. We\u2019re publishing 10 names every day, culminating with the top 10 on Monday, September 4.<\/p>\n

The AFLW 2022 Rising Star has the football world at her feet. Selected with pick 12 in the 2020 AFLW Draft, the diminutive Carlton midfielder from Kew Comets set the football world alight with her determined playing style. A natural leader, she was captain of the Oakleigh Chargers and is already a vice captain of the Blues. Her short career is littered with awards including the 2021 best first-year player at Carlton as well as last year\u2019s best and fairest. Her achievements in just three seasons have stamped her as a leader for the growing competition. Hill\u2019s presence in the social media world is helping to normalise women\u2019s football in the spotlight. – Anna Pavlou<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Mimi Hill is the reigning Rising Star.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

Carr was one of the names highlighted to take over Richmond\u2019s head role, though he pulled out of the race to stay home in Adelaide with his young family. Within the four walls of Port Adelaide he is highly regarded and is playing a big part in the resurgence of the footy club. His tactical mind and ability to connect with players is having a huge impact on their young midfield. Now 13 years out of his playing career as tough midfielder with Port and Fremantle, Carr is building a resume to become a senior coach, potentially the successor to Ken Hinkley when his contract runs out in 2025. – Emma Kearney<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Josh Carr (left) is seen as a likely successor to Ken Hinkley at Port.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n


<\/em>Few players can transform their clubs. At 26, Curnow can and arguably already has done so, as a supreme athlete who\u2019s kicked and created more goals than anyone over 2022-23 and dragged the long dormant and troubled Blues back into the finals. A special forward who, while media averse, has a quiet force within the club, Curnow can restore Carlton to grandeur and bring people to the footy. – Jake Niall<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Charlie Curnow celebrates one of the three goals he kicked against GWS to clinch this year\u2019s Coleman Medal.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n

Geelong\u2019s games record holder and revered premiership captain led the Cats from inside and out for 12 years before retiring after his fourth flag and taking what is predicted to be a brief hiatus from the game punctuated with a leadership role this year with Melbourne Storm. Even his off-field absence has been sorely felt at Kardinia Park. Football clubs, the AFL Players Association and head office will all be competing for Selwood and his accompanying cultural impact over the coming years. The game is not expected to let him go for much longer. – Caroline Wilson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Geelong\u2019s Joel Selwood with the 2022 AFL premiership cup.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Scott Barbour<\/cite><\/p>\n

With two spaces vacant on the AFL Commission, this is the time to make sure football people with a range of experiences in the industry have a say on the direction of the game. \u201cLethal\u201d fits the bill \u2013 widely considered the greatest player of the 20th century, a four-time premiership coach and a respected media commentator with 3AW and Seven. Matthews\u2019 knowledge as a player, of clubland and the media landscape would be a perfect fit for a commission lacking in football understanding. With his knowledge of the Brisbane market he can help the AFL continue to grow all aspects of the code. – Mathew Stokes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

AFL Legend Leigh Matthews<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

Widely regarded as a senior coach-in-waiting, the 265-gamer remained at the Western Bulldogs for another six years as an assistant to Luke Beveridge before leaving the club to expand his CV. At the time of writing Giansiracusa had been strongly supported by Brad Scott to pursue a senior coaching role. The AFLCA\u2019s assistant coach of the year in 2020, he has made no secret of his long-term AFL coaching career ambitions. – Caroline Wilson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Daniel Giansiracusa is seen as a future senior coach. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

An AFL commissioner since 2015, Wilkie was on the original 10-person panel that set up the AFLW, and is nowadays the head of the AFLW\u2019s competition committee, tasked with overseeing the \u201coverall progression\u201d of the league. It\u2019s a big role at a time when fans, clubs and players are feeling increasingly agitated at what they see as an absence of progress, a reticence to invest further from head office and constant uncertainty over the direction of women\u2019s footy \u2013 while other sports, like soccer, enjoy boom periods. Strong leadership is needed to navigate the choppy waters ahead, and this retired major general should have it in spades. – Vince Rugari<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

AFL Commissioner Simone Wilkie.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n


<\/em>Might be the most influential 41-gamer in AFL history. After dabbling with \u201ccontent creation\u201d during his days as a player with Carlton and GWS, Buckley has quickly become one of the league\u2019s new media stars. His podcast, Dyl and Friends<\/em>, is essential listening and offers a previously unavailable perspective on footy, other sports and popular culture. Buckley has a disarming presence, which enables him to draw intimacy out of his subjects. Others, like Damien Hardwick in announcing he wanted to coach again on Episode #199, offer up information strategically. Expect more players, coaches and others to tell their stories this way, on either Buckley\u2019s podcast or their own, perhaps. The media landscape is changing and Buckley has first-mover advantage. – Vince Rugari<\/em><\/strong>
<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dylan Buckley, pictured in his GWS days, is now a successful podcaster.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

The first female inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Debbie Lee has already had a profound impact on AFLW and girls footy, but she\u2019s not done. Lee holds the position of National Women and Girls Action Plan Lead, a role the AFL created last year. Here, she\u2019ll carve opportunities for women and girls in playing, coaching, umpiring and administrative roles. Lee has run the women\u2019s football programs at Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, and was a force behind the Dees-Dogs exhibition matches that pre-dated AFLW. She is also a former president of the Victorian Women\u2019s Football League. – Marnie Vinall<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Debbie Lee is a pioneer of women\u2019s football now in a curcial AFL role.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

He might have retired, but the charismatic Tigers spearhead will stay front and centre in the footy conversation through his media roles. He also looms as an important figure for the AFL\u2019s new Tasmanian team. A young mind is needed to inspire not only the team but, most importantly, the community. For the new club to be successful, Tasmanian people need to run and own this team and Jack\u2019s personality is perfect for the state to get behind. It shouldn\u2019t be a token role either; with time up their sleeve using Jack\u2019s experience in all departments of the football club is paramount \u2013 but the general manager of football should be the end game. – Mathew Stokes<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jack Riewoldt with the 2017, 19 and 20 premiership cups.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

Come back on Friday for numbers 40-31.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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