Patrick Dangerfield’s exceptional leadership will see him flourish after career ends such as AFL CEO

He’s torn games apart, carried teammates on his back, and driven opposition coaches to despair — now Patrick Dangerfield could be set to take on his greatest challenge yet: what comes after the siren.

Dangerfield has said after he retires, he plans on taking his family on a caravan trip around Australia.

But the Cats skipper, who heads into his first grand final as a captain after playing arguably the best match of his career in the preliminary final, will be a man in demand once he hangs up his boots.

Deflated Hawks coach Sam Mitchell bemoaned, “I’m certainly ready for Dangerfield to retire”, after the ageing superstar single-handedly ripped the game away from Hawthorn with 31 touches and three goals in Geelong’s 30-point win last Friday.

While his rivals can’t wait for the 35-year-old to change out of the Cats hoops, he has at least one more year left in him.

His exceptional leadership skills and charming, down-to-earth persona make him one of the AFL’s most likeable guys.

It’s hard to find anyone who will say a bad word about him and you will struggle to find any evidence of him playing up, misspoken or behaving badly in his 18-year career.

He has been outspoken about shortening the length of AFL games but avoids rocking the boat on contentious issues. Dangerfield, who became Geelong’s captain in 2023 at 32 after Joel Selwood retired, and was president of the AFL Players’ Association for seven years up until this year, has proven himself a premier statesman.

The corporate world will be falling over itself to get Dangerfield to don a suit, while AFL clubs and the AFL itself will be eager to tap into his footy IQ and leadership qualities.

It may not yet be on his to-do list, but he could one day even run the AFL as its CEO, bringing the unique former player’s touch to the role that would help bridge the gap that sometimes exists between the players and the executives.

Danger’s a real talent. Getting some other experiences would be good, but he’s certainly someone who could make a contribution down the track.

Dangerfield also would undoubtedly have a bright media career ahead.

The boy from Moggs Creek near Geelong is already a podcast star through his fishing and outdoors show Reel Adventures. But the father of three may also just sail off into the sunset after 20 years in the limelight after joining Adelaide as a 17-year-old in 2007 before moving to Geelong in 2016.

The legacy he leaves will not just be for his on-field exploits.

Dangerfield led the AFLPA through some dramatic changes. He was pivotal during COVID when the AFL shut down before conducting the 2020 season in hubs, ensuring player welfare and safety was prioritised. Dangerfield was at the forefront of the landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2023 which increased players’ wages and the number of AFLW games.

AFL Commission chair Richard Goyder sees him playing an off-field role after his retirement.

“He looks like he could play another 300 games but hopefully when he retires, he will have a role in footy,” Mr Goyder said.

“He’s a good thinker. It’s more than skin-deep. He’s got gravitas. If he’s got a view, he’s happy to advocate, debate and discuss.”

Mr Goyder noted Dockers champion and new Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich and former Western Bulldogs player and now Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick had taken up administration roles after working elsewhere following retirement.

“You look at Matthew Pavlich, he did an MBA when he was playing at Fremantle, he’s done the media and some start-ups and is now back with Sydney (as its new chief executive), and Simon Garlick left footy for a while and did something else,” Goyder said.

“Danger’s a real talent. Getting some other experiences would be good, but he’s certainly someone who could make a contribution down the track.”

Selwood told The Nightly aside from playing career-best footy, Dangerfield’s growth as the captain of Geelong had been exceptional since he handed over the baton after the Cats’ 2022 flag win.

“What I think I’ve found with Patty over the last 18 months is I see an enjoyment in the captaincy. He’s got a really good balance now he’s doing it, and I think that he’s enjoying it, as we’ve seen this year,” he said.

“We spent enough time together for so many years that he would have picked stuff out of my leadership, as I did with his along the way that made it work. But it was important that he does it differently to what I did. He’s been able to do that.

“I think the league would want him to (move into an administration role), I think that he’s very clever. He articulates things well. He sees the game well, but to be honest, I’m that Geelong nuffy that just wants him to continue playing if he can put some performances out like he is at the moment.”

Columnist for The Nightly Matthew Richardson said winning a premiership as captain could be the final feather in his cap and he would be well positioned to move into a senior leadership role.

“He’s already going to go into the Hall of Fame, and he’s done everything. But I think it actually just completely puts the full stop on his CV,” he said.

“Whether he wants to try the media and be on Channel Seven, or whatever he chooses, if he wants to go into an executive role or administration role, I think he’s going to have that many offers.”

Among his many achievements — which include a Brownlow Medal, a premiership, eight All-Australian selections and four club best and fairests — his greatest accomplishment may be something there is no award for: inspiring his troops and supporting them when they need it most.

The incredible success of Bailey Smith at Geelong in large part can be attributed to the troubled star’s relationship with Dangerfield.

Dangerfield has said Smith makes football “more fun” and when Smith joined the club in late 2024 he said they “just want him to be himself”.

Smith, despite being a walking headline all year — from flipping the bird at fans, verbally abusing photographers and joking about cocaine use — has played his best season of football and polled third in the Brownlow Medal count on Monday.

Smith poked fun at his skipper on TV about how many Brownlows he had won on Monday night and revealed the pair had coffee together most days where they talked about separating the person from the player.

“He has been the best for me, honestly,” Smith told Channel Seven.

“He is a leader and he has accomplished everything in the game and he still takes the time out of his day to look after me through some dark periods through the year. It is something I will never forget and I am forever indebted to him.” Dangerfield has returned the favour, ribbing Smith post-game during the year about his poor lawn mowing technique.

Selwood said he was not surprised by how well Dangerfield and Smith got on.

“This is the behind-the-scenes stuff that has become a bit more evident because of the personality that Bailey is,” he said.

“But Patty is an exceptional people person, and you can see the way that Bailey has spoken about him, and even the way that Pat speaks about Bailey, that they get along really well and understand that they’re both going to help each other at the end of the day.

“So there’s a responsibility, there’s an accountability. And it’s actually really nice to see that people are seeing a different side of Patty.”

Max Holmes said Dangerfield’s influence on the younger members of the Cats squad during his decade at the club could not be understated.

“He has been an absolute mentor for me. He’s been so good for me, just for the whole ride, really, and he backs you in,” Holmes said.

Dangerfield said being a parent had helped him become a better leader. “It definitely balances you,” he said.

“You’re trying to be less emotional, because you know that from a leadership sense the buck stops with you. You learn that over time.

“But you also learn not to react to certain things and to take your time with things, whether it’s with players or decisions that are made that you agree or don’t agree with,” he has said.

“The moment you say you’ve nailed leadership or anything like that is the moment that you need to hang it up.” You can always improve and always learn and that’s been a great experience for me.”

He has also adapted the way he plays the game as one of the last big-bodied middle fielders like Nat Fyfe and Dustin Martin.

The move into the forward line and less time at stoppages has helped prolong his career after a horror run of injuries saw him only play 34 games in 2021 and 2022.

“I’m acutely aware of where I’m at as a player. It is less of the aerobic type stuff and it is more the power work. We’ve got some amazing runners in there, so my role is that work inside and then play forward,” he said.

“It’s sort of worked in the last couple of years and I think that’s the future for guys once they hit their mid to late 30s.”

And while life after football could be as successful as his on-field career, Dangerfield has his eyes firmly on more silverware.

“It’s the crowning moment,” Dangerfield said of the 2022 win.

“As your career progresses, and it starts to get closer to the end and you realise you’re running out of time … it’s earlier than that when you realise the importance of what a premiership would mean and how it would connect you with teammates in a way that you wouldn’t otherwise be connected.”

WATCH THE AFL GRAND FINAL LIVE AND FREE ON SEVEN AND SEVEN PLUS