They also identified a leadership void in the football department when Simon Lethlean transitioned from head of football to CEO as well as a need to update the list strategy to focus on the draft. Lethlean replaced Matt Finnis in that role with David Rath expecting to be elevated to football manager before the review recommended hiring an experienced football boss.

The willingness of management to debate issues with the board and the board’s ability to question what was happening was also questioned with the president resolving in the end that the club “needed more revolutionary change than originally intended.”

The club has also decided not to sell a home game in 2023 and will also apply a strong football lens to any cause games we consider. The club is already committed to the annual Pride Game with Sydney and plays in the Blue Ribbon game against Hawthorn.

The summary also identified that the review committee,which included Bassat,Lethlean,board member Jason Blake and independent expert David Noble,who finished up as coach at North Melbourne a week after Ratten had his contract extended by two years,did not specifically recommend Ratten was removed although the style of leadership required was debated.

The review committees’ three major recommendations were to:identify and recruit an experienced head of football;improve the leadership and capacity of the coaching group;make further investment in the leadership and development programs for our players.