AFL manager Adrian Anderson calls it quits after nine years
THE man who has overseen most of the big changes in AFL football in the past nine years yesterday stepped down because it was "time to do something different".
In announcing he would finish "sometime in the new year", football operations manager Adrian Anderson denied reports he was set to take up the role as chief executive at North Melbourne.
"I haven't had any discussions with North. I haven't made any decision about what I'm going to do next," he said.
AFL boss Andrew Demetriou paid tribute to the man who replaced him in 2003, saying Anderson had carried out what was an unpopular job with outstanding efficiency and integrity.
Demetriou listed some of the changes to the game Anderson had been involved with, including:
- Reforms to the tribunal system
- Development and implementation of the AFL's illicit drugs policy
- Creation of the AFL's first integrity department
- Established the rules for the expansion clubs (Gold Coast and GWS)
- Changes to ruck rules to try to limit serious damage to ruckmen's knees
