Richard Goyder is leaving the AFL. He’s foiled a plot on his way out

In electing Craig Drummond, the former Geelong president, as the designated next AFL chairman , the AFL Commission has opted for modest change and evolution rather than revolution or a dramatic shake-up.

Implicitly, the AFL Commission has chosen to combat the competition of the NRL’s deal-making chairman Peter V’landys by installing someone who shapes as his opposite – a genuine hands-off chairman.

Drummond was Richard Goyder’s preferred candidate, and it was clear that while Goyder and his allies could live with Peter Gordon, the forceful ex-Bulldogs president and prominent lawyer, they did not want to see the undeclared yet serious campaign to put ex-Collingwood president Jeff Browne in the chair succeed.

Craig Drummond is poised to replace Richard Goyder as AFL Commission chairman.