WAYNE ON THE WANE

The big news of the day, the big sporting news, is that Wayne Jackson will announce today he is quitting as CEO of the AFL.

Jackson, stepping down after nearly seven years in the job.

Why? We are not sure but I suspect the near fatal accident he had on a tractor several years ago gave him a new slant on life and maybe he has decided it is time to stop and smell the roses.

Although, as a former senior executive with Thomas Hardy and Sons and then BRL Hardy, it may be a case of stop and crush a few grapes in the vineyard.

The Jackson period at the AFL has been one of the most dramatic and influential. We have seen the TV rights taken from Channel Seven and bought by Foxtel – then onsold to Channels Nine and Ten in a complex package that saw the Nine Network miss out on all the finals.

We have seen two million dollar bailouts to the Western Bulldogs who must surely be on the last wag of the tail.

The salary cap fiascos have threatened the power of the AFL over the years although the governing body has shown some sting in recent years.

And there is the continuing controversy over special over-the-cap allowances to the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions. Especially with Brisbane winning back-to-back flags.

Methinks Eddie McGuire is right when he bleats that the time has come for a level financial playing field so many years down the track.

Over the years, first as a member of the South Australian National Football League Commission, then as an AFL Commissioner and since 1996as its CEO, Jackson has had some memorable stoushes with club presidents –especially Carlton’s John Elliott.

The Elliott days are now grubby memories at that financially corrupt club but then Essendon and Melbourne were also guilty of salary rorts.

Maybe some of those club presidents forgot Wayne Jackson’s original profession. He was an accountant. And bean counters are not easily fooled.

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2002