ON WEDNESDAY night, footy officials from throughout the bush will gather at Carlton's training complex, Visy Park, which doubles as the headquarters of the Victorian Country Football League. They will be there to hear an address from Peter Jackson, who was chief executive of Essendon between 1996 and 2009. These days Jackson is the chairman of AFL Victoria, the AFL-controlled body that oversees the game in the state where it was first played.

At the meeting, Jackson will outline the terms of reference for his review of the way football is governed in the bush. While reviews of this type are nothing new - a state parliamentary inquiry into country footy was held just five years ago - this one has the potential to throw up a number of radical recommendations. When completed, it might even signal the beginning of the end for the VCFL, an organisation founded in 1927.

''We need to make sure we get the maximum participation in and development of the game,'' Jackson says. ''In a nutshell, that's what the review is about. What it's not about is looking at leagues and how they manage themselves and their competitions.''

So why is Jackson's investigation being conducted now? And why are the terms of reference being revealed just two weeks after the review itself was announced? This is where the plot thickens.

On the afternoon of Friday, May 13, the chief executive of the VCFL, Glenn Scott, resigned after nine years in the position. Why he quit is a point of contention between him and the VCFL board, which is led by its president, Nicholas Rolfe, an Echuca-based lawyer. The official line is that Scott handed in his resignation ''to pursue other interests''. Another version suggests he was undermined because late last year he put his hat in the ring - unsuccessfully as it turned out - for the position of AFL Victoria CEO.

The bottom line is that two of football's most powerful men, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and general manager of game development Dave Matthews, were furious with the manner of Scott's departure. Demetriou and Matthews were outraged they weren't consulted, or notified, about the impending change. They remain convinced Scott was forced out by board members with a misguided agenda.

When he discovered what had taken place that day, Demetriou phoned Rolfe and expressed his dismay. The following Tuesday, the AFL landed another blow when it announced the review of the ''structure'' of country football.

''This was instigated so that various organisations will work more effectively together,'' Demetriou said at the time. ''Against this backdrop, we are particularly disappointed with the process undertaken by the VCFL board as well as the outcome. Glenn Scott has been an outstanding CEO of the VCFL. Despite a long-running drought, bushfires and floods, Glenn has spearheaded the growth of the game across country Victoria.''

Despite the fractious situation, the VCFL's board members and its executive have pledged to co-operate with the review, and they will be at Visy Park on Wednesday night. Nevertheless, the board has already moved in its own direction, with Steven Reaper, who was a champion full-forward with Bendigo league clubs Kyneton and Gisborne in his younger days, already appointed as its new CEO. Reaper was previously the VCFL's financial and commercial operations manager.

''The board had considered the what-ifs when Glenn was in the running for the AFL Victoria role,'' he said. ''I didn't expect Glenn to resign but I certainly have had ambitions to do the job for quite a period of time. From a career point of view that was always potentially the next step.''

Reaper is upbeat about the review. He points to what happened after the release of then-AFL commissioner Colin Carter's report on the structure of the football industry in 2001. ''The most positive step has been the introduction of central administration hubs,'' he said, highlighting the likes of Football Geelong and Central Vic Footy in Bendigo, which have full-time staff and oversee multiple leagues. ''They have meant the reliance on volunteers hasn't been as great.''

For legal reasons, Scott is unable to talk specifically about his exit. But when he spoke to The Sunday Age, he talked proudly of his achievements. ''Over the past decade, participation in country football has increased from 65,000 to 80,000 and the VCFL's turnover has gone from $1.2 million to $6 million a year,'' he said.

Understandably, Scott supports the Jackson-led review. He believes it is likely to recommend a move towards country footy leagues affiliating directly with AFL Victoria. Such a change would result in the VCFL and its board becoming redundant.

''It's all about what's going to be best for the next 10, 20, 30 years,'' he said. ''The VCFL structure has served well for over 80 years, but ... the AFL removed the AFL Victoria board and I think history will record that was a good move. It brings everything closer and removes different layers that might not be as useful in the future as they were in the past.''

Recent comments from Rolfe suggest he feels the AFL is trying to launch a takeover of bush football. ''We are an independent board, and an incorporated body ... and ultimately the AFL have got no ability to be able to influence anything that we do,'' he told ABC radio last week.

However, administrators of the VCFL's affiliated leagues, who are well aware of the AFL's large financial commitment to the grassroots game, are not using such strong language. In fact, most of them appear to support closer ties with the AFL.

''The VCFL has never been in better shape,'' says Ballarat league boss Rod Ward. ''But if there's an opportunity to improve the structure, I see that as a positive.'' It is easy to assume that Jackson, who aims to deliver his initial findings by August 31, has reached his conclusion before the review even begins. Yet he is adamant this is not the case. ''Any recommendations that I come up with ... the VCFL doesn't have to adopt them; it's an autonomous body. Its members, however, can choose to do whatever they like. But whether the VCFL board should or shouldn't be there as a layer of governance is a question that's just one small part of the overall exercise. The review needs to look at much broader issues than that.

''The reality is that the AFL wants to be directly accountable for where resources are placed and how much money is invested in football in Victoria. That doesn't mean it's going to take over the operation of things. The AFL is not in the business of managing suburban and country leagues. It's about developing the game.''

One thing is certain: given the VCFL has 82 affiliated competitions and representatives from all of them will want to have their say, Jackson has a mountain of work ahead.

By Adam McNicol

Article first appeared The Sunday Age, May 29 2011

Adam McNicol is an employee of the AFL

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