Bulldogs play musical chairs with board

Updated October 17, 2012 16:08:56

A less combative Peter Gordon will begin his second stint as president of the Western Bulldogs confident the AFL club is now fully supported and respected by the sport's ruling body.

It is not a claim the respected lawyer would have made during his first crack at the top job, which began with him being the catalyst behind the successful fight against the AFL's push to merge the Bulldogs with Fitzroy.

Gordon initially stepped down as Dogs president in 1996 after a seven-year term to be replaced by David Smorgon, who returned the favour this week after 16 years at the helm.

"I think the club has a fine future," Gordon said on Wednesday.

"It has risks and it has threats and it has challenges ahead of it as well. They have always been there.

"But it is in a much better position than when I left at the end of 1996.

"And of course it's in an exponentially better position than it was in 1989."

Gordon was encouraged by what he heard from AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, chief executive Andrew Demetriou and chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan during a meeting on Monday.

"The irony of it was not lost on me that I was welcomed into the AFL headquarters by a management that not only values and recognises the Western Bulldogs football club franchise, but also its vital importance to the competition as a whole - in particular because of its roots and its work in the western suburbs of Melbourne," Gordon said.

"And that was not a philosophy, frankly, that seemed to be a priority 25 years ago.

"In a sense we are greater western Melbourne and greater western Melbourne is as important to the future of the competition as (new franchise) Greater Western Sydney."

Gordon said he wanted to play a central role in how the AFL dealt with the growing gap between rich and poor clubs.

The Bulldogs have also appointed Susan Alberti as vice-president.

Gordon will speak further with outspoken former player and now successful restaurateur Paul Dimattina in coming weeks about his bid for a seat on the board.

Dimattina had been an increasingly vocal critic of Smorgon in recent years, but Gordon said he came into the job with an open mind.

"All Bulldogs will be welcomed back to the kennel," Gordon said.

"And all Bulldogs will be asked, and in some ways expected, to contribute what they can."

Smorgon, 65, had initially planned to stay on as president for one more year before changing his mind when the club's sub-committee recommended the highly-experienced Gordon as his successor.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, footscray-3011, vic, australia

First posted October 17, 2012 16:05:55

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North boss quits after board review

Updated June 05, 2012 17:05:55

North Melbourne chief executive Eugene Arocca has quit the AFL club after reports of a rift between himself and board members.

Arocca handed in his resignation, effective immediately, saying his position had become untenable.

"As a result of matters beyond my control, I have handed in my resignation to James Brayshaw effective immediately," he said in a statement.

"I will remain a proud and passionate member of the North Melbourne Football Club and will fondly remember my time as CEO.

"I want to thank my loyal staff for their incredible hard work and support and I want to pass on my best wishes to the playing group, Board and football department for a successful future.

"I would also like to acknowledge our amazing supporters and urge them to continue to back the club in and get right behind the mighty royal blue and white.

"North Melbourne has been a big part of my life for the past five years and I hope to remain part of the Kangaroo family for a long time to come.

Kangaroos president James Brayshaw said the board had met last month to set in place a process to decide whether Arocca should continue in the job beyond the expiry of his contract in October, or be replaced.

But he denied that Arocca had delivered an ultimatum over the timing of the decision or that he had a personal feud with the chief executive.

"It was decided we needed to embark on a process of either re-signing Eugene or beginning to search for whoever might replace him," Brayshaw told reporters.

"It's just proper board behaviour. It had begun, it was ongoing, he knew everything about it, there was no cloak and dagger about it."

Brayshaw said suggestions of rifts between Arocca and himself or between Arocca and the club's football manager Donald McDonald were untrue, although he admitted there had been friction at times.

"In footy clubs, regularly you get times when people don't see eye to eye, it's a robust environment," Brayshaw said.

"I think Donald and Eugene have great respect for each other.

"I'd be lying if I said they always see eye to eye, the same way I'd be lying if I said Eugene and I always saw eye to eye.

"You don't, it's a brutal industry and there are times when you need to have brutal and frank discussions with people."

Brayshaw said Arocca's "street fighter" nature had caused him to butt heads with other club figures at times, but was also part of what had made him good at his job.

He said Arocca had achieved a lot in his five years, notably spearheading the creation of the club's $15 million training and administration facility, helping transferring club control to the members and increasing revenue.

Chief operating officer Cam Vale will be acting chief executive, with Brayshaw expecting it to take two or three months to find a permanent replacement.

Brayshaw said Arocca had been asked whether he wanted to front Tuesday's media conference, but declined.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, north-melbourne-3051, vic, australia

First posted June 05, 2012 15:25:08

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Lions finally get one on the board

Published:Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:32 AEST

The Lions celebrate a goal by Bryce Retzlaff during the round nine AFL match between the Brisbane Lions and the North Melbourne Kangaroos at the Gabba on May 21, 2011.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, qld, brisbane-4000

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