The AFL has been criticised for its lack of communication to clubs amid ongoing confusion over what constitutes a legal tackle, with Essendon great Matthew Lloyd urging CEO Gillon McLachlan to move on.
Despite the AFL already appointing Andrew Dillon as its next CEO, McLachlan remains in charge for now and Lloyd suggested his presence has led to more confusion.
“Surely Gillon has got to go now,” McLachlan told Nine’s Footy Classified.
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“It’s been going on for too long. No one knows whether they’re coming or going. He’s got to go now. Andrew Dillon has to come in and be the boss.
“Who tells us (the decisions), that’s the problem. We don’t have a leader.
“Brad Scott (ex-AFL head of football) left eight months ago (to coach Essendon), Gillon McLachlan has been hanging in there for so long and this is why it’s gotten to this point.
“When we had (former AFL head of football) Steve Hocking, a lot didn’t like what he was doing, but at least you had somebody there who was putting himself on the line and making decisions.
“We just don’t have anybody answerable to anything at the moment.”
Lloyd wasn’t the only one critical of the AFL, with Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel and former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire also calling for better communication.
“The reason why you have confusion is a lack of communication,” Bartel told Footy Classified.
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“Get out to the clubs because you’re there to serve the clubs. I think we get that around the wrong way sometimes.
“If the head of footy visits the clubs, has regular conversations with footy managers and coaches, actually gets on the phone and says, ‘Hey, this is starting to creep in’, (it will help).”
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“It is hard, but not that hard. It can be done,” McGuire added.
“We’ve just got to step into it and forget about the PR, just do it. If you’re going to have two weeks of everyone saying, ‘The game has turned into Gaelic football’, bad luck, but tell us what the game’s got to be.”
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