Not even the global economic crisis could cool Demetriou's hot gospel on why expansion should not be stalled. but that is not to say that he hasn't experienced challenges to get to that point and won't continue to. [4], In 2009, Demetriou earned $1.8 million for his role at the AFL. Have views on everything. The family was close, and Demetriou grew up conscious of his parents' love, sacrifice and work ethic. Chief executive Andrew Demetriou is kissed by his wife Symone as his daughters Francesca and Alexandra look on during an AFL press conference at AFL. "The answer is, 'I don't know', because the things I've done are all very, very different - garbage, false teeth, football, so I think anything's possible. "Yep, she let her guard down there!" Business was booming, but romance, he told friends, was over. He was 24. "Well, nobody said anything about my mother, thank God. Demetriou became emotional when he talked about those loved ones and colleagues he had lost during his time in the game's administration - his first wife Jan Bassett, mother Chrysi, former AFL . Gallop refuses to admit publicly to anything other than total confidence in rugby league. Symone will have brought home Who or New Weekly and the next thing I'm reading about who Lindsay Lohan's slept with and whatever. He was educated at La Trobe University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1983 and a Diploma of Education in 1984. The deal included unprecedented live TV coverage of the AFL competition in all states of Australia through free-to-air, subscription and IP television. ', he would say things like, 'You know, I don't know what the right way to feel is, but at the moment I don't feel comfortable doing that.' At this point in time, no one knows if Andrew Demetriou can make the AFL expansion work. "Another call. I think there's an expectation that they are but some of them are just young men who make some silly decisions some of the time." "Though one of nine AFL commissioners, the buck stops with Demetriou. There's been speculation before, most famously when the now-defunct Bulletin magazine declared in late 2007 that he was about to pull the pin to spend more time with his family, even retreat to a holiday home on Italy's Lake Como. "If I were to believe you guys," he told the audience of journalists, "I'm a hot-tempered, loud, heavy-gambling Cypriot, prone to fly off the handle without warning. Yes," says his head of communications, Brian Walsh, grinning. That deal is up for renegotiation, and he's expected by many to winkle more than $1 billion out of broadcasters this time around. Please try again later. One day they might be in Geraldton, and within two days they're told they have to fly to Brisbane and play for the Lions and leave their family and friends. "I remember my mum telling me about going to a parent-teacher night when Andrew was in grade 2," says James. It's the largest multicultural area in Australia. So we have a population that is very diverse, that's very proud of what it's achieved. But Demetriou, the negotiator, has talked them around. "Those who work closely with him reckon Demetriou has achieved all of that. I wasn't that gifted; I made the most of the ability I had. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. Andrew Demetriou is the CEO of the AFL Commission (which runs the AFL competition) and, like Lindsay Lohan, he's a consistent performer. ", Admits O'Neill, "We all have to play to our own competitive advantages, but I envy the AFL their deep pockets. And we adopted an attitude of making the most of every day and every hour. Jennifer bodymeasurement and social media presence. He was practising the delicate art, so valued by Australians, of high achievement without visible effort. He'd had one great relationship in his life; that was all anyone could expect. But it's not all beer and skittles. "His father, nearly 80, still lives in Coburg but these days spends the winters back in Cyprus. "Our numbers are very impressive in western Sydney," he says, when he says anything at all. (m). He met his second wife, Symone, then a corporate sales executive at the AFL in 2001 and they married a few years later. Demetriou became emotional when he talked about those loved ones and colleagues he had lost during his time in the games administration - his first wife Jan Bassett, mother Chrysi, former AFL chairman Ron Evans, ground operations boss Jill Lindsay and Jim Stynes. "I've said continuously that it's not going to be easy," says Demetriou calmly. It was all give, it was incredible giving. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. Tania Hird, the wife of the suspended Essendon coach, has repeated the controversial claim that AFL boss Andrew Demetriou tipped off the club. I didn't take things as seriously.". He is from Australian. But as the code that stands to lose the most, not only in terms of money but in historic heartland support, privately there's both frustration and cynicism within the NRL's ranks. What followed next was his second marriage in 2002 with Symone, who is currently his wife. There has been much talk of the $200-million war chest that will fund the expansion, and those on the inside say it will take all this and more. The defeat was the turning point in the Swans' season, with the Swans losing only two more home-and-away games for the season, both by single-figure margins and eventually winning the 2005 Premiership. He pauses again, looking almost embarrassed. "In year 12 he had major issues with a couple of teachers who took exception to his brashness and his confidence and the way he excelled. Its leafy luxury contrasts sharply with the suburban landscape of postcode 3058. Even if it's 10 o'clock at night he'll still be responding to emails or taking calls. And Britney," Demetriou changes tack. "I went to uni, did arts and a dip ed, majored in legal studies and politics, and got a job teaching year 12 politics. I remember my mother getting the same call. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [citation needed] He claimed that the Swans would not win the premiership with the way they were playing,[10] and this statement was underlined when the team suffered a 43-point defeat to St Kilda in Round 10. Even when I said to him, 'Andrew, you know, maybe now you should start to think about moving on how are you feeling? Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. "He's telling the truth about that," says Don Watson. "Andrew's not frightened (to take heat) and he encourages us to think long term and make decisions in the long-term interests of the game and not be worried about short term criticisms there's no doubt he came under personal pressure from the Federal Government at that time. Credit: The high-profile Melbourne identity, who has been a director of the casino giant since 2015 and is chairman of Crown . We spoil them from time to time, but we also want them to want. They have three daughters and a son. The Kim Williams appointment to the commission would seem good for McLachlan who does not yet boast its unanimous support. "He was amazing during her illness," says Unglik. Given her mother followed North Melbourne, she thinks she must have seen him in passing, if only on Saturday evening's TV replay, but she couldn't be sure. For Demetriou, Australian rules will always be the game that embraced him and gave him social and professional status; that supported him during a great tragedy in his life. "It wasn't whim. It hurts people. She and Andrew married soon afterwards (friends recall him saying he wished he'd done it earlier), and Bassett fought the illness for three years. Ryan Edwards and his wife, Mackenzie, have officially called it quits amid their ongoing legal issues. USER IS NOT PERMITTED TO DOWNLOAD OR USE IMAGE WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL. Andrew . Were working to restore it. Of course, despite all the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth, the NRL and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) have been stealing each other's players for years. "Andrew Demetriou was born, the youngest of four boys, in Melbourne to Greek Cypriot parents in 1961. "I don't think we want to get Andrew involved in the grow suits. he says. He was awarded the University's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009 and a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) in 2015 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to sport management and to Australian society through his leadership and support of important social issues, and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor. I'm very optimistic about what's going to happen in greater western Sydney, very optimistic. He is not dating anyone. "I've said from day one I regard it as a privilege to be in the role; I love the job, but I'm sensible enough to know one day it will come to an end.". Oh. "I got a kick, which helps," he laughs. "You can't be around for 100-plus years and not be a resilient code," he continues. Lead commercial strategy and business development, major event partnerships, production and venue hire for Carriageworks, Australia's largest multi-arts organisation. No one barracks for the AFL, put it that way. "He's a boy from Cypriot parents who used to muck around in the backblocks of Coburg, and I think he's a very driven man.". "I spend more time reading the front part of the paper rather than sport. "What people don't realise is that it hasn't been easy for him," says James. Then there's a long silence, during which he appears to be considering weighty matters of national significance. And because of where the new AFL teams are based, who will play in them and how the money will flow, the most serious impacts are almost certain to be felt by AFL's main competitor for fans, players and cash: the National Rugby League. We take these people and put them into a club environment and we expect them all to behave exactly the same. "Not many people get away with calling Andrew, Andy. "And in return? He suffered heartbreak a decade ago when his first wife, the academic and historian Jan Bassett, died of cancer, but today Andrew Demetriou's life seems very much on an even keel. And they are relishing the prospect of a fourth child, due in November. Were working to restore it. He was a good, though never a great, player. "History will tell.". Plate of heart Soccer's Jose Mourinho is The Special . Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. [8] North Melbourne rejected that offer and, in January 2008, the AFL chairman, Mike Fitzpatrick and Demetriou announced that the Gold Coast Football Club would enter the AFL in 2011. "But what I do know is that in greater western Sydney, there are 220 different ethnic groups, 220 languages spoken and 180,000 indigenous people. That's the reality of the world we're living in. Michael Warner and Ashley Argoon 5 min read December 12, 2013 - 5:27PM HeraldSun "She said to the teacher, 'How's Andrew going? She died in 2004. He still has this quality of que sera sera effortlessness, say those close to him. "Just the four of us. "You could see, even at that young age, that he was very erudite, well-read, interested in travel.". Footy was a great way to pick up $20,000 or $30,000: that's how I bought my first home. Andrew Demetriou and family pose with La Trobe deputy chancellor Dr Philip Moors AO (left) and vice-chancellor Professor John Dewar (right). The comic wore a white tuxedo with a matching black tie. More than anything, at all stages of his life, football has allowed Demetriou both to stand out, and to fit in. Please try again later. Demetriou has been a remarkable leader of Australias greatest and most successful football code. Recruited from Pascoe Vale, Demetriou played for the North Melbourne Football Club as a winger between 1981 and 1987, playing 103 games and kicking 47 goals. At 61 years old, Andrew Demetriou height Demetriou's lasting impression was of his parents' deep commitment and love for their family, but also the pain for them of distance and separation. In the business-class lounge at 6.30am, top button undone and pale blue tie looped around his neck, the most powerful man in Australian football scours the newspapers for news. "She's all right.". Andrew Demetriou was born on 14 April, 1961 in Australian, is an Australian rules footballer, born 1961. But I always had my eye on other things. We're changing people's lives. Demetriou found himself playing alongside some of North's greats - Keith Greig, Wayne Schimmelbusch, Ross Glendinning, the Krakouer brothers and Malcolm Blight to name a few - but by the time he was in his prime in the mid-'80s that premiership era had passed. The AFL is debt-free and soon will have "squirrelled away" a $50-million contingency.Overall, the league is unrecognisable as the once-bereft and bankrupt Victorian competition of 1985, the year the 12 original clubs handed control to an independent commission. In 2005 he was instrumental in securing a record breaking A$780 million TV rights deal. "Just the way he's championed the cause of women in general and other initiatives here. In his role as head of the AFL Commission, he was responsible for a number of changes, including the expansion of the league from 16 to 18 teams, the restructuring of the tribunal system, and the brokering of two new television rights deals. [2], Recruited from Pascoe Vale, Demetriou played for the North Melbourne Football Club as a winger between 1981 and 1987, playing 103 games and kicking 47 goals. is 182cm (6ft 0in) and Weight 80kg (176lb). ', and she said, 'Well, he's very good. "Of that opening remark, Lindsay recalls: "It was a throwaway line, really. This is true for the AFL Commission as a whole, and for Demetriou personally. A fourth daughter would be fantastic. In 2009, Demetriou earned $1.8 million for his role at the AFL. I played golf once three or four years ago, and when I got home after six hours " - he pauses, smiling - "no, no. 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