Kane said strong relationships with clubs were vital as the league must harness the football knowledge within clubs’ men’s and women’s programs,and she promised the football operations team would be more accessible to the public and media,unafraid to engage in the conversations that dominate football seasons.
The former Melbourne University women’s football club player and administrator,who worked as a lawyer before joining North Melbourne’s football operations team in 2016,expressed pride at becoming the first female in the position.
“To look around and see female presidents,female CEOs,female executives and to yesterday hear from someone like[former Richmond president] Peggy O’Neal,who I have watched pave the way for women in this industry for a number of years and be successful ... it’s a really big moment for women in our game today,” Kane said.
Kane listed higher scoring and quicker ball movement in the AFLW competition among her priorities and promised to invest in technology across both competitions to “understand more about our game” and what can be automated when the game is happening in real time using ball-tracking technology.
Kane,who joined the AFL as competition manager in November 2021,had held the football operations role on an interim basis since Dillon was named as Gillon McLachlan’s replacement in May.
The league has been criticised for the time it has taken to fill the position andthe lack of football expertise on the AFL Commission.