Former Geelong president Craig Drummond to take over from Richard Goyder as AFL Commission chair

Former Geelong president Craig Drummond has been appointed as the new AFL Commission chair.

7NEWS Melbourne’s Xander McGuire revealed on Tuesday afternoon that former federal government financial regulator and Medibank CEO will take over from incumbent chair Richard Goyder after a long process to find his successor.

Former Collingwood president Jeff Browne, former Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon, and former AFLPA CEP Peter Allen had been mooted as the other names in contention to take the job.

Mitch Cleary revealed early last month that Goyder would not seek re-election beyond 2026, with March next year slated as his finishing date.

“Our national game is in great shape, but we can’t afford to stand still,” Goyder said in a statement released by the AFL.

“The Commissioners and I have every confidence that when my term ends in March, Craig is the right person to lead a new era of growth and engagement with our fans, our clubs, and our broadcast partners.

“Craig has a deep understanding of football, combined with proven business and leadership capability.

“His contribution to the game and his professional track record will make him an outstanding addition to the AFL Commission.”

Speculation dating back as far as last year had clubs expecting Goyder to chase another term until at least 2028.

But he will soon walk away from his AFL tenure that included six years as a Commissioner before he replaced Mike Fitzpatrick as chair in 2017.

Rumblings in recent months indicated a handful of club presidents were considering a move to overthrow Goyder from the top job.

Despite pressure on his position intensifying, Goyder chaired the Commission’s nominations committee across August-September to find the league’s next chair.

Goyder last year stepped down as chair of Qantas.

The League’s nominations committee has also included club presidents John Olsen (Adelaide), Andrew Wellington (Brisbane), Sonja Hood (North Melbourne), Andrew Bassat (St Kilda) and Andrew Pridham (Sydney).

Caroline Wilson reported in September had “blindsided the selection committee” by putting forward his own candidates, cutting out club presidents on the committee from the process.

So upset were a group of six club presidents they met to discuss Goyder’s cavalier process, before a subsequent meeting of all 18 club chairs took place on Monday.

“At that meeting there was so much anger that my understanding is some of them even spoke about boycotting the presidents’ meeting and lunch on Brownlow day, the traditional get-together of all the clubs when everyone’s in Melbourne for the big celebration of grand final week,” Wilson said on The Agenda Setters in September.

- With Mitch Cleary