The AFL's ability to read a room has come into serious question with news that chief executive Andrew Dillon has thrown his weight behind an appointment to the league's communications team, a move that connects the organisation back to one of its most troublesome recent controversies: the Luke Sayers scandal.
Dillon's backing of a well-connected adviser who has worked for former Carlton president Luke Sayers arrives at a moment when the AFL can least afford it. The league is already contending with an ugly defamation lawsuit. Cate Sayers is suing her estranged husband Luke for defamation, alleging he accused her of accessing his X account and posting a photograph of his genitalia in January 2025. Court documents reveal allegations of considerable severity. Cate's lawyers allege Sayers revealed intimate details about her 'sexual history and mental health' in his statutory declaration to the AFL.
What makes Dillon's endorsement particularly puzzling is the timing and backdrop. The AFL's integrity unit eventually found his account had been compromised and cleared him of breaching AFL rules, but Carlton had launched its own probe into the matter before Mr Sayers resigned. Even with a clearance from the integrity unit, the entire affair left considerable reputational damage in its wake.
The AFL did not speak to Cate regarding accusations she had published the lewd photo on her then-husband's X account during the investigation. This procedural gap has since become central to her legal case, with her lawyers arguing the inquiry legitimised a statutory declaration containing damaging allegations against her while excluding her voice.
The appointment raises awkward questions about institutional judgment. Dillon's leadership has already attracted criticism from senior media commentators. Earlier this year, journalist Caroline Wilson stated her belief that Dillon will be out of his role as league CEO by the end of 2026, citing a scandal involving long-term AFL staffer Judith Donnelly, who was blamed and ultimately sacked. According to Wilson's account, Dillon told Donnelly 'Richard wants you gone,' with Dillon described as looking 'weak' and departing chairman Goyder as looking 'like a bully,' and Wilson suggesting 'it's difficult to see how Andrew Dillon lasts the year'.
For an organisation hoping to demonstrate it can govern itself competently, backing an appointment that ties the league back to an unresolved and contentious matter sends the wrong signal entirely. The issue is not necessarily whether the appointed adviser is qualified. The issue is whether the AFL has learned anything about institutional caution and appropriate distance from controversy.
The league has stumbled before on off-field management. The AFL usually runs a tight ship, but there were significant mis-steps as the league handled controversies involving players Willie Rioli and Lachie Schultz. Dillon himself has acknowledged that expectations are high. He told the public that 'we in the executive are in the privileged position to be stewards of a game that means a lot to a lot of people. How that manifests is people really care about the game and they care about the decisions you make, the way you go about making those decisions. What it also then impresses on you is you have to be at your best every single day'.
The communications role matters at the AFL. This is the person who helps shape how the league tells its story to the public. When that role goes to someone connected to the Sayers affair, the league's credibility takes another dent. Fair or not, it will read to many as tone-deaf.