McLachlan Retirement Paused

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan may have resigned back in April, but the date of his actual departure is still up in the air. After almost 20 years in the AFL, he said he wanted to spend more time with his family. His line has changed now and he said recently there are several pending issues which he still has to oversee, not the least of which is the Hawthorn racism investigation. It's not clear why the next CEO can't handle them. He told The Melbourne Age, “The timeline is, I’m leaving, but I ... there are a few things going on that I feel it’s my responsibility to be settled down enough and on an even footing when I leave ... The priority is for the leadership to feel comfortable, that you feel stable so that when you handover it’s in a good spot. What that date is I can’t tell you, but it’s not going to be into late next year, but over the coming months ...".

AFL commentator Gerard Healy questioned whether McLachlan would still be around next year given he’s committed to staying in his role while the Hawthorn investigation is completed, “Everybody is of the view that Gillon McLachlan is going to resign at the end of this year or start of next year. But is it reasonable to say there’s a large chance that he may actually sign up for the entirety of next year?"

AFL great Brad Johnson said on SEN that Gil needs to make a decision soon with the draft and preseason not to far off. McLachlan had pledged to finish the new Collective Bargaining Agreements for both the AFL and AFLW as well as the potential for an AFL team in Tasmania.

Source: theage.com.au