HAWTHORN has lost a major member of its off-field squad on the eve of the 2024 season, when Josh Vanderloo resigned.
It’s understood Vanderloo handed in his resignation last month, having joined the Hawks in 2021 as their executive general manager of operations and special projects
Vanderloo, who had previously spent over 15 years at the AFL in a variety of game development and list management jobs, helped shape the current phase of Hawthorn’s list makeover.
Vanderloo had just helped draft Hawthorn’s strategic plan for the next three seasons and was involved in the club’s list orientation through data and analytics, as well as serving on the board of Box Hill’s VFL team.
He was also in charge of putting up the club’s first-ever AFLW football program and playing group ahead of the League’s seventh season, and he emerged as an internal candidate for the Hawks’ CEO position midway through last year.
Vanderloo had been a high-profile appointment for Hawthorn midway through the 2021 season, having previously replaced long-time AFL guru Ken Wood in charge of the League’s total player payments (TPP) system and played a key role in the AFL’s decision to reinstate the Mid-Season Rookie Draft in 2019.
Hawthorn had already expanded its list management ranks earlier this year, when it rehired four-time premiership great Jarryd Roughead as its player acquisition manager, focusing on trades and free agency.
It was one of several list management moves throughout the AFL this summer, with West Coast signing Richmond’s highly acclaimed recruitment manager Matt Clarke as list head earlier this week.
A number of clubs, notably Richmond, Sydney, and Fremantle, are now looking to strengthen their recruitment departments in the coming weeks as a result of the summer’s moves.
