“Her knowledge of women’s football in Victoria was second to none,and she ruffled a few feathers around the league putting our team together because she knew all the players so well and she managed to recruit a super team.
“The players all respected her,but there was probably a bit of old-school male thinking within management of:‘What’s this woman coming in and telling me what to do?’ She was astute enough to withstand that.”
In the administrative reshuffle at North that followed Brad Scott’s messy mid-season departure in 2019 both Dilena and his football general manager were gone by the end of the year. In a sliding-doors moment for Kane and the club Brady Rawlings was brought in as football boss and Scott,in his new football role at the AFL,poached Kane to work at head office.
“The point there is the people she worked with at North like Brad knew how talented she was,” added Dilena. “I must say we only worked together at North for four years,but I felt like a proud parent this week.”
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Kane has been acting in the AFL’s top football role since May when Dillon was finally given the nod to replace McLachlan. Clearly the best internal candidate for job,the characteristics that have defined her performance so far include operational zeal,a deep understanding of the game at all levels and a publicly appealing manner. To date her exchanges with the 18 senior coaches have been described as relatively softly spoken but firm.
That Kane was not the first choice to assume the role is a situation she shares with her boss Dillon. Chairman Richard Goyder not only tried to convince McLachlan to stay but as has been reported also identified Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler as his preferred candidate before being unofficially overruled.
Club bosses who hold cautious optimism for the Dillon regime say that among the many qualities of the one-time deputy who waited 14 months from McLachlan’s resignation to his own appointment,is a thick skin born of his inner strength and strong family background. They add that while others might have lost patience with the arduous and messy process and nursed grievances against Goyder,that the pragmatic Dillon moved on quickly.
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Having spent considerable hours since his appointment visiting and communicating with club leaders around the country,the suggestion is that Dillon has identified a need for stronger ties between the AFL and its most crucial stakeholders. Both clubs and Dillon’s staff hope he manages to unearth a senior club leader to take on that role exclusively in his new executive team.
Kane held an early seat at the negotiating table for the collective bargaining agreement negotiations,which remain delicately poised and are almost a year overdue. Now the talks are being handled exclusively by McLachlan and Dillon opposite AFL players’ boss Paul Marsh.
The new football boss identified on day one in her new role that the game needed to speak more clearly and frequently to fans to explain umpiring decisions,rules,operational mishaps and procedures.
The football performance role vacated last October by Scott will finally be filled by the end of September,so withJosh Mahoney heading football operations and Daniel Richardson the spokesman for umpiring,there will be no shortage of talking heads.
As the pieces of Dillon’s new executive puzzle finally come together,Laura Kane was this week’s good-news story and an appointment sorely needed after theBen Keays goal debacle. But the new boss has some holes to fill and faces unfinished business in further bolstering the AFL’s flagging administrative reputation.