The Boys' Club

by Michael Warner

The Boys' Club is the must-read inside story behind the power and politics of AFL, Australia's biggest sport.

Revealing how the fledgling state administrative body evolved into the Australian Football League and its meteoric rise to become one of the richest and most powerful organisations in the land, award-winning investigative journalist Mick Warner delivers a fascinating insight into key figures and their networks.

Tracking the rise of the game and the AFL figureheads, The Boys' Club lifts the lid on the scandals, secrets and deal making that have shaped the Australian game.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Australia, Politics, History

376 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2021

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot believe how good Jeff Kennett comes looking out of all this

[Nick Lucarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed the way I view the AFL from a harmless boys' club to a nepotistic, toxic organisation drunk on its own power that makes its own rules to quash the controversies, journalists and critics that threaten to derail it. The personal vendettas, egos, affairs, systemic bullying, cover up jobs, cronyism and disregard for governments, fans and even players makes your skin crawl. All this to be fair does come from someone that has been shunned by the industry, and while it is thoroughly researched, should be taken with a grain of salt

[Liam]

Reading about the alleged misconduct of a family member I've looked up to since I was a kid is tough, and I don't know how to square that off with the relationship I have with them now. Also knowing my parents met at a bar involved in a (potentially (?)) corrupt procurement process makes me feel like a true child of neoliberalism.

Warner did a good job driving home to me that the leadership believes in their ability to deliver their own agenda and that this is what's best for the game, the handling off the Essendon saga, Buddy move and letting some garbage treatment of female staff go on in the workplace doesn't point to sound leadership despite the growth of the game. Amendola's quote, referencing Wayne Carey and others being welcomed into the game but James Hird frozen out summed this up powerfully.

Pretty shocked that the AFL can be registered as a charity that receives public money and not declare their CEO's salary. I agree with the sentiment that plenty of people could do the job, and most of the commercial strength/negotiating power comes from grassroots nuffies who get told to drink their overpriced middies and chips in the GA and be happy about it or tune in at home week after week to the dulcet tones of Cameron Ling and Dwayne Russell. The organisation seemed fat pre-covid (a lot of heads in Commercial and Finance) and I agree that much of this work is unlikely to improve the product

I've read about Bob Woodward books where people who speak to the journalist are encouraged to give heroes quotes based on who they will be presented in the book (Richard Colless = Respected) and felt confused that I was agreeing with the decent rub Jeff Kennett gets.

I'll still lap up Shorty pinging one off half back or George running around the corner and kicking points in 2022, and maybe that is part of the problem.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book failed to keep my interest. The author was intent on doing a hatchet job on the AFL, and on CEO's Demetriou and McLachlan (probably deserving of the stinging criticism) in particular. But it becomes boringly repetitive. A saving grace is the chapter 'What to Do' and the sensible recommendations it contains on improving the accountability of the AFL. If only...

[Karen Liang · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I am thoroughly convinced now that the AFL is an evil, tyrannical corporation with deep webs spanning out to all the other evil corporations run by the same circle of mates. The fact that they run as a not-for-profit and do not pay taxes but have executive members with salaries of up to 7 figures, AND still have taxpayers foot the bill to upgrade Docklands stadium is absolutely ridiculous. Not everything in this book is new news, but put together it forms quite a scathing attack on the biggest sporting code in Australia. The cover ups, lack of integrity, media control, intimidation, scapegoating...the list just goes on. No one in the high levels of the AFL is left unscathed, except for maybe Jeff Kennet who comes out like a champion, as the only president seemingly openly critical of the AFL and their operations.

[Elizabeth Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent read - Every AFL fan should read this. Everybody involved with an AFL club should read this. Australian Football is a great game and it deserves better people as custodians. People who aren’t in it for power or to feed their own egos, but rather because they love the game and want it to thrive. The ties The AFL has to gambling are dangerous and unethical. The fear of independent integrity review and truth is bizarre and highly concerning. Their determination to be involved and partial at every level of the game from the media, to club administration, to player and coach associations, to rule manipulation, and everything else in between is god damn scary. One can only hope that once the present CEO finishes his tour of duty, and please let it be soon, that we get a person who values good, transparent and ethical governance. Each and every member of each and every club deserves better. I think they way they have interfered with the laws of the game tells the whole story - they say it is to “increase goals” but really, it’s about giving sponsors more ads, which is about selling tv rights for bigger $$$$, which is about paying the overinflated administration more money. Let’s get back to a club centric competition rather that the clubs being the servants of the administration. Highly recommended reading.

[Shannon McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally someone has had the guts to write about how things really are inside the AFL, with no fear of retribution or concern for how it could affect their public perception. This is an excellent expose, is historically correct, balanced and well researched. How Australia's largest and most financially successful sporting organisation was somehow allowed to be brought to the brink of bankruptcy due to Covid-19 astounded me. After reading this book I can now see exactly how this almost came to pass.

[Linda W · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating view of the AFL & it’s workings …blokey is the word that comes to mind as the title suggests. After reading this book I am definitely going to be more cynical about how the AFL hierarchy deals with issues & what the media reports. Lots of food for thought in this one about a beloved Australian sport & those in the inner circle.

[Jack Caspersonn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read on a sport that I love. It was hard to put down. An interesting behind the scenes look at the game that does so much very well but could do more! A wake up call for the game and those that lead it.

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute shocker - high-level Australian sport is just as gross and power hungry as the American sport. A good primer for a foreign fan like myself.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A damning account of a culture of nepotism and entitlement. I definitely think the book was at it's strongest when it was discussing the culture of the AFL house, rather than evaluating certain decisions made (especially regarding Essendon, which could have been formulated slightly better and not so as to imply that Hird had no idea what was going on during the doping scandal when, like, he definitely did). Missed opportunities to not discuss the fact that there are still no outwardly gay men in the AFL, and definitely could have devoted entire chapters to racism and sexism in the league.
However, Warner clearly loves the game. As someone who also loves Aussie rules I appreciated the perspective. Warner redeems some of his more hyperbolic speech (and fanboying over Jeff Kennett, Victoria's worst premier) with his recommendations at the end of the novel which were level and very reasonable.
All up 3.5 stars.

[Greg James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A forensic examination of the AFL machine- where the “boys “ have been quietly amassing fortunes while overseeing some scandalous activities over the last 20 years or so. Drugs, sex, dodgy deals and good old fashioned nepotism are at the heart of the goings on. Warner is clearly not one of the boys, and his righteous indignation shows through!! A great read if you’re an AFL fan.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this informative book on the AFL. Easy to read. It showed the true nature behind this sport..... toxic, bullying, nepotism, affairs, scapegoats, "managed" situations. What a machine the AFL and some characters (I am being polite) behind it....interesting

[Gagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

nepo babbies go brrrrrr

[Glen Cowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more.
I fundamentally agree with its central premise: the AFL is a law unto itself obsessed with spin, PR management, self enrichment and self preservation and with an outsourced influence on cultural life in Victoria.
However, the scope of the book seemed to be a collation of anything and everything that inspired the slightest whiff of controversy. A lot of this was based on he said/she said innuendo and often the other side of the story was never even attempted to be heard. A more streamlined book focusing on a tighter narrative would have been much better.
Furthermore, basic dates (I.e. Jack Hamilton died in 1990 and not 1988, and Tommy Hafey became Collingwood coach in 1977, not 1979) are messed up and occasionally appointments are ascribed to reasons that never were. I am mostly thinking of the intimation that Gary Pert was an ‘AFL appointment’ at Melbourne when in truth that description could be better applied to Peter Jackson. Without wanting to open a can of worms, some of the indirect downplaying of the Essendon doping scandal by overemphasising the AFL’s naked self interest did the book a disservice.
I’d also add that there needed to be greater scrutiny paid to the integrity and motivations of some of those quoted in the book. It’s a bit rich for Jeff Kennett to give anyone a lecture about governing transparency when he spent most of his 7 years in government being accused of weakening the power of the auditor general’s office and granting low transparency bidding procedures for the casino that would ultimately become Crown: a consortium led by his mate, Lloyd Williams. I also found it pretty galling that the full focus of the book was on the AFL’s undoubtedly pathetic response to the Adam Goodes booing saga when it chose to revisit that sorry episode, while not acknowledging that columnists in the paper Warner was working for had columnists like Andrew Bolt and Miranda Devine providing daily grist for the rednecks mill (he called them rednecks, not me).
Nonetheless, Warner’s target is correct. It’s just a shame he didn’t use a sniper rifle to shoot at his targets, and not one of those shotguns that fire out shrapnel and buckshot.

[Joshua Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boys Club highlights some serious failings of corporate governance in the AFL. From scandal cover ups to jobs for the boys, this book will satisfy anyone who enjoys some gossip. Whilst it paints a nasty picture of the organisation, it's important to recognise that it is not a comprehensive history of the game, clubs, and administration. Any corporate entity will look bad with all of their public mistakes being laid out chronologically. That being said, when the AFL fucks up it tends to be catastrophic. The Essendon drugs saga, the Melbourne tanking scandal, the booing of Adam Goodes, and sexual harassment of female staff have all been handled atrociously, all with little consequence to AFL executives. It's just such a shame that the causes the AFL likes to champion publicly are thrown out the window behind closed doors.

One thing I would say detracts from the book's message is Michael Warner's personal disdain for particular figures, especially Andrew Demitriou and Gil McLachlan. It's makes for very entertaining reading, but I think the contention would be more effectively portrayed if Warner attempted to sound more unbiased. The vitriolic editorialising opens up room for critics of the book to dismiss it as mere axe grinding. Despite that point, The Boys Club makes it very hard to ignore corporate corruption and social failings of the AFL executive.

[Oceansized · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overdue compilation of the AFL’s operations over the past couple of regimes. Perhaps the content is nothing astute football followers didn’t already know, or suspect, but anything that further exposes some of the grubby, self serving individuals (in particular Vlad, the Rhodes Scholar, and Polo Gill) associated with the league isn’t a bad thing.

It’s a shame the horse has bolted on Australia’s most popular sport having its own independent governance body. A true custodian of the sport, not a self-appointed one, without the revenue generating and public relations priorities of a bloated national competition. Instead we live in an age where kids and casual followers know the sport as “AFL”, rather than Australian Rules Football.

A chapter on the league’s role in the gradual sabotaging of state league competitions (SANFL, VFL etc) wouldn’t have been out of place.

Loses a star for too many quotes attributed to unnamed sources, and it started to regurgitate themes towards the end and could have done with some tighter editing.

Overall though it’s refreshing to have somebody with a media profile speaking up.

[Robert Postill · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that I put down more forcefully than I should because by the time I finished I was pretty angry. It is designed to be a polemic and it hits its target squarely. The portrayal of the AFL as arrogant and self-serving confirms many of those nagging feelings you've had about them. Where the book is strongest is in its examination of the scandals that burnt the game deepest. In that vein, an even more thorough examination of the events around Essendon and the tanking affair with the Demons would have pushed me to five stars. I also didn't love the ending, which felt less sure than the rest of the book. Having said that I appreciated the practical nature of the recommendations.

One of the more surreal moments is that you find Jeff Kennet a sensible dissenting voice... I know. I am also surprised to have typed that too.

Do read it. But don't expect to be happy to have read it.

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A survey of the mis-deeds of the AFL management over the last few decades, including nepotism, sexual harassment, stunning levels of hypocrisy, privilege and power, it fails on some levels to be the searing indictment it clearly imagines itself to be, and it leaves out some significant incidents entirely (to be fair, many of those incidents were already recounted in shocking detail in Anna Krien's "Night Games"). But for all that it occasionally lacks depth, it doesn't hold back on talking about what needs fixing and how to go about it.

[edga net · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burn it all down. A horrifying investigation into the ways in which those in charge of the sport I love deliberately ruin lives to preserve their own public image. The ways in which they manipulate the news astounded me. I definitely wasn’t aware of the whole story of the essendon saga, and it disgusts me!

Surprisingly little mention of rompingwins or Glascott’s monkey, maybe saving it for the sequel

[Bd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting run down of all the major negative incidents under the leadership of the last 2 CEOs, however the scope of the book is limited to the scandals and corporate governance failures. It’s not a comprehensive, unbiased look at the last 20 years and the way the code was managed and grown in that period. I would be interested in a more balanced account of the period which still included the material covered in this book.

[AnneS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights into the AFL over the last 10 years. Covers all the major incidents, Essendon drugs, Melbourne tanking, Talia brothers final, and how the AFL hierarchy responded. What is their level of governance? Are all responses only aimed at protecting brand?
Easy to read and very forthcoming. Would/have recommended

[J.D · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s an old running joke…
The AFL has led an inquiry into the alleged highly improper behaviour of the AFL and has found there is no case for the AFL to answer. The AFL accepts the AFL’s findings.
Good book, although it did make me feel for James Hird. That was hugely unexpected and more than a little disconcerting.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great job Michael Warner. You have clearly enunciated what I think the majority of genuine football supporters, definitely those based outside of Victoria, have always believed.

This book is more than that though. It is also a lightning rod to remind us of the impact of lack of respect and equality for women in any workplace.

Great job, excellent read.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

AFL the fall from grace.

Having had friends who worked at AFL house and just getting a snippet of the who cheating on who and how low they would go, God’s! This book just really brings to light just how rotten the core is of this great game.

[Scott Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight

A good read about the AFL. Some startling revelations into the inner workings of the AFL executive and commission. A little surprised more has not been said about this in the public domain

[Jake Lipman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never thought I'd see the day where id be agreeing with Jeff Kennett and Grant Thomas, but here we are!

[Chris G · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book. Read it in 2days. It will make you so angry even if 50% of it is true. Well worth the read.

[Gregory Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The AFL Commission - Judge, Jury and Executioner

The AFL has changed significantly over the past 40 years or so - probably for the better but perhaps my nostalgia-rimmed glasses view the game of the 60's and 70' s, with its tribal appeal and winter season rhythms, as more enjoyable and definitely a better spectacle (and - I'm a Dees supporter!!). Grabbing a Herald at Flinders Street on Friday evening on my way home from work to get Alf Brown's take on the upcoming weekend matches was a well-worn but comforting routine. It seems like a long time ago now - because it was a long time ago but --- distance makes the heart grow fonder.

The Crawford report back in 1984 envisaged an organizational structure for the competition that more closely reflected the governance and accountability structures and practices of the corporate world - the CEO and management team implement the strategy approved by the Board which is, in turn, elected by the shareholders. It started out this way but somewhere along the line (i.e. when Mike Fitzpatrick took over the Chairman's role) the Executive team sidelined the Board's role and there has been a steady process of emasculation of the role of the Commission and the member clubs in decision making since that point (in no small part because of their reliance on the cash hand outs from the AFL).

Warner does a very thorough job of recounting the various crises that have consumed the AFL over the past few decades. In each case it seems that the AFL management simply believed it could micro-manage the problem to a better outcome than an independent and more transparent process could do. That may be true most of the time but it's going to blow up in your face periodically - just ask Essendon. It is certainly sad to read about how some great football people have been thrown under the bus in the interest of resolving embarrassing episodes - not least of whom - James Hird, suffered immensely.

This really gets to the heart of the book - the AFL's willingness to protect (and reward) their mates and leave the rest lying on the scrapheap. Melbourne is a big city - but a small town. It is inevitable that the city's movers and shakers will be involved in the AFL in some capacity and the potential for a conflict of interest (or appearance thereof) is real. Is this all a bad thing? Sometimes a benevolent dictatorship gets the best results regardless of some shortcuts along the way. The league now has great facilities, valuable TV rights, well paid professional players and a passionate audience - no wonder it is now referred to as the AFL industry. Warner outlines a number of steps that should be considered to improve the shortcomings he outlines in the book. Probably not all would see the light of day - but to my somewhat naive eye - they seem pretty reasonable. It all gets back to the Crawford vision of 40 years ago - ensuring that there is proper governance and transparency in place so the fans can trust the product on display on a Saturday afternoon (or Saturday night, or Sunday, or Monday or Thursday or Friday).

[lyny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and well-referenced expose of the self-perpetuating actions and cover-ups and looking after their own of the AFL (Australian Football League) executive – at the expense of the clubs. Particularly good on the Essendon drugs saga; and the way in which control has passed to the large and very well-paid executive rather than the players and clubs – though these have also benefited from the media deals, but the AFL exec decides how much different clubs are given and can misjudge the effects of this, as they did with the failure to adequately support the Gold Coast Suns, and the over-heavy penalty for Carlton from which they still haven’t recovered over a decade later. It covers too the old-school ties and other connections of many of the key identities, their personalities and the way in which they use forms of blackmail and also restraint of trade to stop clubs or individuals openly opposing what they do. For example it recounts the way in which they not only have on contract one top firm of lawyers, but have done minor business with three other of the top Melbourne firms, to limit who anyone suing them can employ. The book is written in a fairly pedestrian style, so it is a slog to read right through it unless you have a compelling interest in the fine details of the AFL and its dealings. It probably works best to cherry pick chapters of interest. But the upside of the straightforward narration and lack of novelistic crafting, is that it documents its sources throughout, and is eye-opening as an expose.