Caroline Wilson

Not since the start of this century have the clubs used their constitutional muscle to remove a commissioner.

The AFL has told the 18 clubs that the women’s game is losing $50 million a year and that the No.1 priority for AFLW in its pivotal 10th season is for on-field performances to improve.

Could Gillon McLachlan and his team could have taken less money to give Seven one more game on a Saturday, or at least sacrifice some Foxtel cash for supporters in non-Victorian states?

Richard Goyder is leading the search for his successor. The clubs are not happy.

The AFLPA boss said the union would refuse to accept a new drug code regime of immediate fines. Also, players testing positive wouldn’t place their anonymity at risk.

The Lions coach was undergoing tests for two types of cancer. His team was sitting at two wins and five losses, with the aftershock of the Hawthorn racism allegations still infiltrating most days. The pressure had become too much.

Not until they saw his name on the Brownlow Medal running sheet did the AFL hierarchy realise Angus Brayshaw would be breaking his self-imposed public silence.

The AFL’s new radio rights agreement is a far cry from the $4.5 billion, seven-year broadcast deal, with the prospect of losing Triple M proving untenable for the league.

Former 200-game Demon Steven Smith had been seen as someone who could take over as president.

A decades-long friendship has been one of the casualties of the 2023 premiers’ sometimes-disruptive 2024.