List of VFL/AFL commissioners and club presidents

This is a listing of all the commissioners and club presidents of the VFL/AFL.

An independent VFL Commission was formed in 1985, being renamed the AFL Commission in 1990 in line with the competition.

In 1993, the AFL Commission was given the power to make most administrative decisions relating to the league unilaterally, with the AFL Board of Directors voting itself out of existence. In 1995, the AFL Commission would also assume control of the administration of Australian rules football when it absorbed the ANFC.

A separate role of AFL Chairman was created in 1993 (see below).

VFL President (1897–1985), VFL/AFL Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (since 1985)

NameTerm in officeClub Alex McCracken 1897–1915 Essendon McCracken was also President of Essendon from 1897–1903. Oliver Maurice Williams 1915–1917 Resigned. Melbourne Obituary Chas Brownlow 1917–1919 Brownlow served in an acting capacity after the resignation of Williams. Geelong Walter Baldwin Spencer 1919–1926 Carlton William C. McClelland 1926–1955 Melbourne McClelland was also MCC President from 1944–1957. Sir Kenneth Luke 1956–1971 Died in office. Carlton Sir Maurice Nathan 1971–1977 Carlton Allen Aylett 1977–1983 North MelbourneJack Hamilton 1983–1986 Collingwood Hamilton also represented Collingwood on the Board of Directors in 1985–1986. Ross Oakley 1986–1996 St. Kilda Oakley also represented St. Kilda on the Board of Directors until 1993, when the Board voted itself out of existence, and was allowed to represent St. Kilda for the remainder of his tenure under a grandfather clause. Wayne Jackson 1996–2003 Jackson was the first independent and first non-Victorian AFL CEO. Independent Andrew Demetriou 2003–2014 Gillon McLachlan 2014–2023 Andrew Dillon 2023–

AFL Chairman (since 1993)

NameTerm in officeJohn Kennedy, Sr. 1993–1997Ron Evans AM 1997–2007Mike Fitzpatrick 2007–2017Richard Goyder 2017–2026Craig Drummond2026-

Club Presidents

Adelaide Bob Hammond (1991–2000) Bob Campbell (2001–2003) Bill Sanders (2004–2008) Rob Chapman (2009–2020) John Olsen (2021–present)

Brisbane Bears/Lions Paul Cronin (1987–1990) Noel Gordon (1990–1999) Alan Piper (1999–2000) Graeme Downie (2000–2006) Tony Kelly (2006–2010) Angus Johnson (2010–2013) Bob Sharpless (2013–2017) Andrew Wellington (2017–present)

Carlton Robert McFarland (1864–1865) James Linacre (1865) George Coppin (1866–1872) John Walls (1873) Robert Robertson (1874–1885) Arthur Gillespie (1886–1894) Frederick Bromley (1895) A. H. Shaw (1896–1901) Robert Heatley (1901–1904) H. B. Higgins (1904–1905) W. F. Evans (1905–1907) J. Urquhart (1907–1910) J. McInerney (1910–1912) D. Bell (1912–1914) Jack Gardiner (1914–1925) D. Young (1925–1928) Dave Crone (1929–1938) Sir Kenneth Luke (1938–1956) Horrie Clover (1956–1958) L. J. M. Holmes (1958–1965) George Harris (1965–1975, 1978–1980) Ivan Rohrt (1975–1978) Ian Rice (1980–1983) John Elliott (1983–2002) Ian Collins (2002–2006) Graham Smorgon (2006–2007) Richard Pratt (2007–2008) Stephen Kernahan (2008–2014) Mark LoGiudice (2014–2021) Luke Sayers (2021–2025) Robert Priestley (2025–present)

Collingwood

William Beazley (1892–1911) Alfred Cross (1912) Jim Sharp (1913–1923) Harry Curtis (1924–1950) Syd Coventry (1950–1962) Tom Sherrin (1963–1974) Ern Clarke (1975–1976) John Hickey (1977–1981) Ranald Macdonald (1982–1986) Allan McAllister (1986–1995) Kevin Rose (1996–1998) Eddie McGuire (1998–2021) Mark Korda (2021) Jeff Browne (2021–2024) Barry Carp (2024–present)

Essendon Robert McCracken (1877–1885) James Robertson (1886) Alexander McCracken (1887–1903) W. Kent-Hughes (1904–1907) A. L. Crichton (1908–1919) W. Raper (1920–1925) A. F. McGowan (1926–1929) F. F. Campbell (1930–1934) A. F. Showers (1935–1940) N. H. Mirams (1940) W. R. Crichton (1941–1959) W. G. Brew (1959–1968) Allan Hird Snr (1969–1975) Colin Stubbs (1976–1980) Greg Sewell (1981–1987) Ron Evans (1988–1992) David Shaw (1992–1996) Graeme McMahon (1996–2003) Neil McKissock (2003–2006) Ray Horsburgh (2006–2009) David Evans (2009–2013) Paul Little (2013–2015) Lindsay Tanner (2015–2020) Paul Brasher (2020–2022) David Barham (2022–2025) Andrew Welsh (2025–current)

Fitzroy John McMahon (1884–1887) Robert Best (1887–1910) Don Chandler (1910–1930) Bill Hannah (1930–1932) Alec Sloan (1932–1933) Ossie Porter (1933–1936) Bill Raymond (1936–1938) Harold McLennan (1938–1947) George Hook (1947–1951) Les Phelan (1951–1964) Ern Joseph (1964–1975) Frank Bibby (1975–1980) Keith Wiegard (1980–1984) Bruce White (1984–1985) Leon Wiegard (1985–1991) Dyson Hore-Lacy (1991–1996)

Fremantle Ross Kelly (1995–1998, Chairman) Ross McLean (1999–2001, Chairman) Rick Hart (2002–2009, titled Chairman until 2004, President since 2005) Steve Harris (2009–2016) Dale Alcock (2016–2023) Chris Sutherland (2023–present)

Geelong S.S. Rennie (1861–1864) E.R. Lennon (1867–1872) J.J. Buckland (1873) George Rippon (1874–1876) Hermann Reichmann (1876) J.J. Buckland (1877) P. Dwyer (1878) James Wilson Sr (1878–1883) J.R. Hopkins (1884–1885) F. Orchard (1886) James Wilson Jr (1887–1888) John Sommers (1889) George Steedman (1890) Joseph Grey (1891–1899) J. McMullen (1900–1902) Harry Hodges (1903–1909) Arthur Bowman (1910–1920) Robert Smith (1921–1922) Walter Carr (1922) James Piper (1923–1926) Joe Thear (1927–1929) Morris Jacobs (1930–1938) Tom Hawkes (1939) Basil Collins (1940–1945) Jack Jennings (1946–1970) Vern Johnstone (1971–1973) Neil Trezise (1974–1975) Owen Graham (1976–1979) John Holt (1980–1982) Kevin Threlfall (1983–1987) Wayne Bannon (1987–1988) Ron Hovey (1988–1998) Frank Costa (1998–2010) Colin Carter (2010–2021) Craig Drummond (2021–2024) Grant McCabe (2024–present)

Gold Coast John Witheriff (2011–2016) Tony Cochrane (2016–2023) Bob East (2023–present)

Greater Western Sydney Tony Shepherd (2012–2023) Tim Reed (2023–present)

Hawthorn J. C. Watts (1902) George Swinburne (1903) C. O. Shave (1906) Col. Pleasants (1907) W. M. Burton (1908–1909, 1912) H. Henningsen (1910) Charles Bethune (1911, 1914–1915) Cr. Wood (1913) W. H. "Bill" Hulse (1916) Edward Ward (1919) F. O. Small (1920) J. "Bill" Kennon (1921–1931) Dr Jacob Jona J.P. (1932–1949) David Prentice (1949–1953) A. "Sandy" Ferguson (1953–1968) Phil Ryan (1968–1980) Ron Cook (1980–1988) Trevor Coote (1988–1994) Geoff Lord (1994–1995) Brian Coleman (1995–1996) Ian Dicker (1996–2005) Jeff Kennett (2005–2011, 2017–2022) Andrew Newbold (2011–2016) Richard Garvey (2016–2017) Andy Gowers (2022–present)

Melbourne

Frank Grey-Smith (1883–1890) R. H. McLeod (1890–1897) H. C. A. Harrison (1897–1906) T. F. Morkham (1907–1910) A. A. Aitken (1911) William C. McClelland (1912–1926) Vernon Ransford (1927–1928) Joe Blair (1929–1946) William Flintoft (1947–1949) Albert Chadwick (1950–1962) Donald Duffy (1963–1974) John Mitchell (1975–1978) Wayne Reid (1979–1980) Sir Billy Snedden (1981–1986) Stuart Spencer (1986–1991) Ian Ridley (1991–1996) Joseph Gutnick (1996–2002) Gabriel Szondy (2002–2003) Paul Gardner (2003–2008) Jim Stynes (2008–2012) Don McLardy (2012–2013) Peter Spargo (2013) Glen Bartlett (2013–2021) Kate Roffey (2021–2023) Brad Green (2023–present)

North Melbourne/Kangaroos John McIndoe (1869–1871) R. J. Alcock (1872–1873) Dr. Burke (1874) R. Sutcliffe (1875, 1877–1881) E. Harcourt (1882–1885) R. K. Montgomerie (1886) M. Evans (1887–1891) J. Barwise (1892–1895, 1897) N. M. O'Donnell (1896) D. Wadick (1898) W. H. Fuller (1899–1900) James Gardiner (1901) G. M. Prendergast (1902–1911) Clem Davidson (1912–1919) T. F. Jenyns (1920) B. Deveney (1921) George E Ravenhall (1922–1923) A. J. Russell (1924) Patrick Sullivan (1924–1928) Dr D Berman (1928) Arthur Calwell (1928–1934) Dr D Berman (1934–1937) Frank Trainor (1937–1952) Johnny Meere (1952–1953) Phonse Tobin (1953–1956) Alex Marr (1956–1962) Jack Adams (1962–1965) Tony Trainor (1965–1971) Allen Aylett (1971–1977) Lloyd Holyoak (1977–1980) Al Mantello (1980) Bob Ansett (1980–1992) Ron Casey (1992–2000) Andrew Carter (2000–2001) Allen Aylett (2001–2005) Graham Duff (2005–2007) John Magowan (2007) James Brayshaw (2007–2016) Ben Buckley (2016–2022) Dr Sonja Hood (2022–present)

Port Adelaide SANFL J. Hart Snr (1870–1879) J. Formby (1880–1892) J. Cleave (1893–1894) W. Fisher (1895–1900) R. Cruickshank (1901) W. E. Mattinson (1902–1911) R. Cruickshank (1912) Dr A. V. Benson (1913–1921) S. H. Skipper (1922–1925) Dr P. T. S. Cherry (1927–1931, 1937–1949) C. T. Gunn (1932–1936) Dr W. H. Baudinet (1950–1951) F. B. Harvey (1952–1972) K. L. Duthie (1973–1985) B. H. Weber (1986–1992)

AFL Greg Boulton (1993–2008) Brett Duncanson (2008–2012) David Koch (2013–present)

Richmond George Bennett (1887–1908) Frank Tudor (1909–1918) Alf Wood (1919–1923) Jack Archer (1924–1931) Barney Herbert (1932–1935, 1939) Lou Roberts (1936–1938) Harry Dyke (1940–1958) Maurie Fleming (1958–1963) Ray Dunn (1964–1971) Alistair Boord (1971–1973) Ian Wilson (1974–1985) Barry Richardson (1985) Bill Durham (1986) Alan Bond (1987) Neville Crowe (1987–1993) Leon Daphne (1993–1999) Clinton Casey (2000–2005) Gary March (2005–2013) Peggy O'Neal (2013–2022) John O'Rourke (2022–present)

St Kilda Dave McNamara (1939–1940) E. C. Mitty (1940–1945) Reuben Sackville (1946–1955) Jack Reilly (1958) Graham Huggins (1959–1979) Lindsay Fox (1979–1985) David Perry (1985–1986) Travis Payze (1987–1993) Andrew Plympton (1993–2001) Rod Butterss (2001–2007) Greg Westaway (2007–2013) Peter Summers (2013–2018) Andrew Bassat (2018–present)

South Melbourne/Sydney A. Brown (1881) Henry Dodds (1881–1891) A. G. Major (1895, 1898) Dr Thomson (1896) John Sloss (1897) Thomas Craine (1899–1903) Henry Hawkins Skinner (1904–1911) George A. Emslie (1912–1917) Joseph Francis Hannon (1919) Robert Melville Cuthbertson (1920–1928) Jack Rohan (1929–1932) Archie Crofts (1933–1937) J. D. M. Dickson (1938–1941) Lionel Newton (1942–1945) J. P. Cullen (1946–1959) W. R. Tait (1960–1963) R. C. Warner (1963) C. V. Ridgway (1964–1967) Brian Bourke (1967–1972) S. Keane (1972–1973) K. G. Hooker (1974–1975) Craig Kimberley (1976–1977, 1986–1988) G. Camakaris (1977–1978) Graeme John (1978–1981) Jack Marks (1981–1985) Dr Geoffrey Edelsten (1985–1986) Peter Weinert (1988–1993) Richard Colless (1993–2013) Andrew Pridham (2013–present)

Footscray/Western Bulldogs David Mitchell (1886–1893) James Tucker (1893–1894) James Cuming (1894–1911) Frank Shillabeer (1911–1912) Arch Crow (1912–1921) George Sayer (1922, 1926) James Stephens (1923) George Farnsworth (1924) L. Caldecott (1925) Kevin McCarthy (1926–1938) Bert Jamieson (1938–1941) Con Curtain (1941–1946) Otto Grobbecker (1946–1949, 1953–1955) Con Weickhardt (1949–1952) Bernie Barry (1955–1960) Harry Dolphin (1960–1962) Jim Miller (1962–1966) Jack Collins (1966–1973) Dick Collinson (1973–1978) Charlie Sutton (1979–1981) G. Gray (1981–1981) Tony Capes (1982–1988) Barry Beattie (1988–1989) Nick Columb (1989) Peter Gordon (1989–1996, 2012–2020) David Smorgon (1996–2012) Kylie Watson-Wheeler (2020–present)

West Coast Richard Colless (1987) Neil Hamilton (1987–1989) Terry O'Connor (1989–1992) Dwane Buckland (1992–1996) Murray McHenry (1996–1998) Michael Smith (1998–2002) Dalton Gooding (2002–2007) Mark Barnaba (2007–2010) Alan Cransberg (2010–2016) Russell Gibbs (2016–2022) Paul Fitzpatrick (2022–2025) Elizabeth Gaines (2025-present)

References