In an eyebrow-raising development, one of the high-ranking AFL officers overseeing the reported Geelong audit recently capped a six-and-a half-year stint as the Cats’ chief operating officer.
The revelation comes following reports the Cats are being audited by the league over third-party player payments.
An audit is an independent examination into financial reports to verify them and ensure they have been kept properly.
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“This one has raised a few eyebrows in clubland and out of it,” the Herald Sun’s Lauren Wood said on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, before co-host and fellow News Corp journalist Scott Gullan shared details.
“The Geelong audit … Simon Kelleher was the Chief Operating Officer at Geelong for six-and-a-half years,” Gullan revealed on Tuesday night.
“(Cats CEO) Steve Hocking came in and said (to Kelleher) ‘you’re not going to be the next CEO’ — he had (current COO) Marcus King (in mind) — so Simon went ‘OK, I’m going to the AFL’.
“This is his job at the AFL: General Manager — Club, Finance, Performance and Growth. Which means he’s in the department (which) talks to clubs about audits.
“He’s not the one counting the bean counter doing it all, but he’s certainly the one communicating. So, you’ve got ex-Geelong talking to Geelong about their books that he was involved in.
“My prediction is we won’t hear anything (from the audit), because the AFL still hasn’t told us that they’re actually looking at Geelong. So, I think it’ll go away.”
In his role with the AFL, Kelleher has “strong day-to-day management responsibility for the AFL’s financial relationship across the league, to continue to progress how the AFL can support clubs to be competitive on field and thrive off field”.
When Kelleher stepped away from his prominent role at Geelong in October 2024, Hocking said: “Simon has been a key leader in our business and community … the strong financial position the club finds itself in today is also a credit to Simon’s progressive thinking and all of the work he has done in his time at Geelong.”
Kelleher also previously served for three years as CFO at Carlton, having also held key roles in the sports and entertainment industry including at the Victorian Racing Club and Crown Resorts.
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