Jill was a trailblazer across more than 40 years working for the VFL and AFL, and a hero to generations of staff and football people who worked with her and admired her. She was a source of valuable advice and wisdom to me, both as football operations manager and chief executive, and I will miss terribly her friendship, wise counsel and laughter. Many senior staff, both within the AFL and across our clubs, are today heart-broken by the loss of Jill. While she is lost to us, she will never be forgotten.
Mike Fitzpatrick - AFL Commission chairman
Jill Lindsay's passing is a huge loss to all of us at the AFL, and to the game as a whole. She had the most enormous work ethic, values, great humour, and a passion for people, her job and the AFL. She was never one to keep her opinions to herself, and she made sure that all of us understood that complacency had no place in the administration of the game. For all the deep sadness at her loss, when she had so much to give and so much life to live, we can take some consolation from the fact that her spirit fills the corridors of AFL House, and every ground on which the game is played.
Adrian Anderson has been general manager of football operations since 2004, with Jill Lindsay as one of his senior management staff. Jill would act as GM of the department and represent football on the AFL executive when Adrian was on leave
Jill was a star. She loved her work, the game, the people, the stories. She could detect bulldust from a mile off. Strong, wily, direct, open and honest - she is and always will be part of the fabric of the footy ops team and the AFL. The way Jill came into work every day during her treatment typified her strength, courage and love of her work. She commanded authority and respect. Her organisational and communication skills made her outstanding in her role. We are determined to honour Jill's legacy and I will sorely miss Jill, her counsel and her friendship.
Brian Walsh, AFL corporate affairs manager
When I walked into the building one of the first people I met was Jill who looked me up and down and declared "heard you were starting. The (newspaper) boys say you should be ok." It wasn't an endorsement as much as a challenge to do the right thing by the game.
Jill was warm, funny, generous with her time but fiercely protective of the game she loved. She was a natural born leader whose every decision was based on what was best for football. When you saw an email from Jill that ended with SHE, you knew that was the end of the matter and God help anyone who failed to read into those three capital letters the unspoken message that the debate was over long before she hit the send button. Case closed. Move on. But it was that strength and conviction, based on 40 years in the game, that made everyone walk taller and gave everyone in the AFL so much confidence. Will miss the laugh, the voice and especially the short, unambiguous emails ending in SHE.
Mike Sheahan - chief football writer, Herald Sun and former AFL media manager
Jill was one of my favorites from 40 years in football, and I'm talking one of a handful of favorites, not a hundred. I knew her professionally and personally from the mid-1970s and we never had a cross word - a monumental achievement given the personalities involved. If you knew Jill, you liked/admired/respected her. All three for me. SHE, as she liked to call herself, was a star of the game without playing a game.
Caroline Wilson - chief football writer for The Age
Jill told me last year that after she fell in love with football during the 1970s it only once broke her heart and that was when Waverley was closed. But other things came along after that to lift her spirits and never once did she ever consider working anywhere else but at the AFL.
She said she had no plans to retire but when she finally did her dream job would be to work as a gate attendant at the MCG because she knew the place better than anyone else. It is dreadfully sad that she never had the chance to fulfill that and so many other things but I like to think of her spirit living on, haunting the traditional home of football as a friendly but bossy ghost. Although she was much more than simply a trailblazer for women she was football's true first lady...
Eddie McGuire - Collingwood president
The great thing about Jill Lindsay is that you always knew where you stood with her. You could have an out and out barney with her and you just knew that she was always trying to do the right thing for the game. She was a super professional, a wonderful person, and someone who had a great empathy with the game and the people in it.
She has been a trailblazer not only for her gender but for people who understand and love what was an adopted game for her. That game became her life.
She had so many friends across such a diverse range of people. Even those who were not close friends were respected colleagues. There are very few people who after a lifetime of business are noted for the fact they are loved and respected in equal doses by everyone they dealt with. Jill Lindsay was one of those people.
Personally, it is a very sad day, and on behalf of the Collingwood Football Club I pass on my condolences to Jill's family and friends and, like everybody in the football industry, feel our loss is profound.
Wayne Jackson - AFL chief executive 1996-2003
My overwhelming view of Jill is of her absolute loyalty and commitment to the Australian Football League. She just worked really, really hard physically and emotionally for the best interests of the League. She was a true servant of the AFL and therefore the AFL game.
She was a stickler for supporting the rules and the processes of the League and as a result she was seen to be very strong and determined, but her determination was merely to do what was right.
She would never contemplate anyone doing anything that was contrary to how the AFL would want it done. On the very positive side she was direct, forthright, blunt, called a spade a spade and you knew exactly where you stood, which could, for some people, be confronting. Remember she was a woman in a man's world for a long time.
For a lot of her career she was a loner, in terms of being a woman in a man's world, working with strong men in football clubs so she was the right person (for the job).
If ever one could be described as a true servant of the game, Jill (Lindsay) was a servant of the AFL and therefore the game.
Kevin Bartlett - official AFL Legend and radio presenter
I've never known anyone who knew so much about their job as Jill. Whenever there was a big game like Anzac Day or finals, you could ring Jill, get her on the radio at a moment's notice and she'd give you all the information you needed to pass on to the listeners.
She knew every seating position at every ground in the AFL ... she was a genius. She was a much-loved figure and I'll miss her greatly.
Paul Roos - former Sydney Swans coach
It's really sad. She was one of the long-serving VFL/AFL employees. She was a really nice person, very helpful and one of the unsung heroes of the AFL. A lot of people get credit and a lot of people don't get credit and Jill was just one of those that just endured and endured behind the scenes and had a low profile. She was just fantastic and I couldn't speak highly enough of her. I've always thought she's done an amazing job and it's a really, really sad day.
Danny Frawley - AFL Coaches Association CEO and former Saint
Jill really understood the game and the coaches appreciated her efforts in ensuring the game was always presented in the fairest possible, yet most attractive, manner. Coaches also pride themselves on getting their own way in many areas, yet they all found this a challenge with Jill. She could see them coming.
Jill proved to everyone associated with the AFL that you don't have to kick goals to be a star in our great game. Our thoughts are with Jill's family and with all her friends at the AFL who are feeling deeply saddened by her loss.
Stephen Gough - MCC chief executive
I've known Jill since 1982. When I first came across her, she was a quite experienced VFL person and someone you would always go to for your requests, assistance or changes on game-day.
If you tried to spin her a story as to why this change or additional request for tickets was needed, she had such a strong internal radar on spin that she gave you a very short answer. But if you were genuine on what you were doing, she would give you full support. She had a key role during the finals. When I got to the MCC, it made me realise how important the relationship was between Jill and the key MCC operational people here in running the finals, in particular the Grand Final.
She said only recently at a farewell for a long-serving MCC employee that when her work at the AFL was over, she'd come back and work at the MCG. I think her time is only temporarily over and her work at the MCG will continue on long after this because of the legacy she built up with the people here on how to run a key event. She will be sorely missed, but she will always be there.
Gerard Healy -1988 Brownlow medallist and media commentator who has known Jill for most of his 32-year involvement in AFL football
I will always remember the time I spent 24 hours sitting next to Jill on a flight to Dublin, talking about a million things and realising that I was lucky enough to spend time talking with a person who knew more about life and football than 99 per cent of people I've ever run into.
Jill seemed to be a mentor and friend to most people she dealt with and was bloody good fun to have a drink with.
She was one of life's great enthusiasts - she always saw a positive in everyone she spoke about - and the game is 100 per cent worse off for her sad passing.
Bill Deller - former AFL umpire and AFL director of umpiring
I was umpiring in 1970 when she started at the AFL so I've known her since day one. When I retired at the end of 1981, I became part-time director of umpiring which then turned into a full-time role in 1987 and I worked with her to the end of 1997 when I gave it away.
Jill had a great sense of humour, she was fantastic to work with and she was very strong mentally. Her life revolved around her job and her knowledge of ground operations was incredible.
If there were any issues with umpires like safety and security, she'd be on to it straight away and deal with it in a competent and professional manner.
Greg Swann - Carlton chief executive
I found Jill fantastic to deal with. The overwhelming thing about her is that she really cared about the game and about how it was presented.
Occasionally she would ring you and give you a bit of a burst for doing something you shouldn't have, but she was always fair.
She was probably the one person in the AFL who had the best affinity with the clubs. She understood mostly where we were coming from. From a club point of view, she was the best conduit in there for us.
I always found her really good company. She will be sadly missed.
Andrew Ireland - Sydney Swans chief executive
Jill was a wonderful lady. She had a huge passion for the game. She was tough and very forthright, but always fair.
Her priority was always the presentation of the game for the public, and clubs had to fit in with that, though she also understood the pressures on clubs.
I remember at one grand final I was in the lift with a young AFL staffer who had a walkie talkie on his hip. All of a sudden you could hear Jill's voice over the walkie talkie. He'd failed to get something onto the ground as she'd asked and he got the best spray I've ever heard!
She was very strong and never afraid to make decisions, but she was also a great friend. She was someone we all looked to because if there was a question on game day, Jill always had the answer.
Dr Allen Aylett - North Melbourne playing great and club president from 1971-76 and 2001-05. As VFL president from 1977-84, he worked closely with Jill
Jill was one of the most highly rated administrators in Australian sport. Joining the League as a 20-year-old youngster in 1970, she was there at the beginning when the VFL developed and expanded to the AFL to become Australia's biggest sport. She played an extremely significant part in the League over her 40-year involvement.
She was highly regarded, respected, popular, but tough and decisive, as she set new standards in ground and event management. She was a wonderful lady who really got the job done.
The name Jill Lindsay will be everlasting in the history of the AFL. We will all miss her.
Ross Oakley - AFL CEO 1986-1996
What an immeasurable contribution Jill made to the growth of the AFL over so many years of devoted service.
She was the first female senior manager at the AFL and was a pioneer for women in football. She was just so good at what she did, but such a fun staff member, prepared to work hard when required, but enjoy everyone's company when the pressure was off. She was a mentor to so many during her time in senior positions and was always someone you could rely on to get a tough job done, particularly in her role with ground managers.
There is no doubt she was a calming influence during the difficult early years of transition to the AFL. She was just a joy with which to share moments talking about the intricacies of the game and to share her confidence in what we were trying to achieve.
Football will miss you tremendously.
I will miss your friendship, your smiling face Jill Lorraine.
Rest In Peace, we will never forget you.
Ian Weeding - former Sydney Swans video, statistics and match analyst and current AFL internet and statistics manager
When the Swans reached the Grand Final in 2005, Jill made sure I had an on-ground pass - even though at that time I had no true on-ground duties - just to ensure I could celebrate with the players, coaches, officials and club people who I had been so close to during my years at the Swans. As someone who loved the game and the people in it, Jill instinctively knew what the match and the club meant to me. It remains the best day of my life and among my strongest memories of the day is celebrating on the ground with my second family - the Swans - and all thanks to Jill.
Kevin Sheehan - AFL national talent manager, who began working in junior development in 1976 while still a league player with Geelong, and worked with Jill Lindsay over the last 35 years
Jill was the most organised person and her attention to detail was her great strength. She was as close to perfect as possible when it came to running the big events and the big days, like a grand final. An incredibly important occasion was in 1995, when Ted Whitten was extremely unwell and his lap of honour at the state game between Victoria and South Australia was his farewell to football.
Jill organised every part of that day, from the lap to getting the teams to salute him at the appropriate moment. From a Victorian team point of view, we had convinced Tony Lockett to play and it was really important to the Victorian players to put up a great performance.
At the end of the game, Victoria had won and Tony Lockett was going to win the EJ Whitten Medal as our best player. The one tiny detail that was missed on the day, was that no one had got the EJ Whitten medal out of the AFL safe. Jill had the keys to the entire building, and the safe where we kept all the medals, so she took it in hand to make sure we could correct things as quickly as possible before anyone knew.
We had to quietly ask the South Australian team for the empty box for the Fos Williams Medal for their best player and, as Plugger walked to the podium, we told him he would be getting a box with nothing in it and please not to open it, and just hold it up.
While the presentation went on, Jill raced upstairs to the main office and Plugger had his medal in his hand by the time we were in the rooms and heading to the showers. The photographers all got the photo in the rooms with Plugger and his medal and nobody ever knew the difference.
Patrick Keane - AFL media manager, who began at the AFL in 1999, working with Jill over the last 12 years
Jill's voice stayed with you the first time you heard it. I joined the AFL in 1999 but my abiding memory of Jill comes from the 2000 Olympics. I had been seconded to work for SOBO (Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation) for a month after the 2000 season, running the media working area at the baseball tournament.
In the breaks between baseball matches, you could sit and watch any other sport begin conducted, via the internal television feeds. There was no commentary on any event, just the vision, the graphics and the raw crowd noise.
Our AFL staffer Peta Edebone was playing for the Australian softball team, so I took the chance to watch a match. The only noise coming across the raw feed, was a constant stream of support from Jill to all the Australian players, particularly Peta, and bursts of applause when the Australians had a great play.
By the end of an extra innings game, all I could do was laugh at how Jill managed to maintain a one-woman commentary across more than three hours.
Tony Peek - assistant to AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou
It is very difficult to talk about Jill in the past tense because she was one of those larger than life figures who made an exceptional contribution to the AFL and her other sporting love, softball. When our family lived in Wheelers Hill and I was walking the dog in Jells Park, I could often hear Jill's voice as I approached the softball centre.
She has been a wonderful colleague and friend to me since I joined the AFL in 1989 and I will cherish her final telephone call to me which finished with a request to make sure that when the time came, we all celebrated her wonderful life.
Dean Moore - Sydney Swans general manager of football. Dean worked with Jill for more than 20 years, before moving to the club scene in 2010
It was my privilege to have worked with Jill Lindsay for 25 years.
She did so much for the AFL, for its people, for me.
She cared deeply for the game and its heritage.
She cared so much for her family and friends.
She led the way for women in football.
She was admired and respected throughout the entire sporting community.
She was a leader.
She had great courage.
She was my confidant.
She was my great friend.
And I loved her dearly.
Brian Cook - Geelong CEO, former CEO of West Coast Eagle. He first met Jill Lindsay 25 years ago when he was CEO of the Western Australia Football Commission
Jill was a fiery girl in her early days, however, she did have a heart of gold and she wrote the book on tough love, I reckon.
I think that's what made her so good: to be so upfront, straight and transparent was probably a bit unusual at that time, but you grew to love Jill over time because you saw what you got.
I remember we had to change the interchange seats down here at Skilled Stadium and it involved about $30-40,000 worth of renovations, which we didn't want to do and had tried to put it on hold.
Jill was up to our tricks and came down and said 'If you don't do it, you won't be playing any games down here'. She looked me straight in the eye and started walking away, then she turned around and smiled, which I knew meant, 'You had better to do it anyway.'
Michelle Clyne - AFL Publicity and Promotions Manager
When I started working in football (20 years ago), I thought this is possible because Jill is already there. Jill always was an inspiration for me throughout my years working in football.
I wish I could have even a fraction of her fearlessness. She was fantastic to watch in meetings.
Jill always had funny stories to tell, especially after grand finals. Her reminiscing of events after her holiday in Europe had the staff rolling about in laughter.
She was always interested in hearing about my softball even though I play at the low end of the scale and we always compared our thoughts on the Tigers. I'll miss those conversations.
Kevin Sheedy - Greater Western Sydney coach
Jill and I started working together in the early 1970s at the AFL and we've been great friends ever since.
I've got many fond memories of her but the latest is probably in 2008, when I was coaching the International Rules team in Dublin.
The Irish coach was standing next to me, giving me a mouthful, and Jill, who was our team manager, was sitting on the bench. I looked at her, and her eyes just said 'Don't'. They really spoke to me and I let it be.
Her legacies are not one, but many.
Robert DiPierdomenico - Hawthorn great who became an AFL Life member on the same day as Jill
I've known Jill for as long as I've been in footy. Obviously she was involved for over 40 years and was one of the original custodians of VFL/AFL.
I loved Jill. She took no crap from anybody, and she was just a wonderful person to be around.
I was quite honoured a few years ago now that Jill and I and Stephen Kernahan received AFL Life Membership together. I remember being in Wayne's (then-AFL
CEO Wayne Jackson's) office and he broke the news and the three of us had a glass of champagne and really enjoyed the time we had in the office together.
It's a very sad day for everybody involved in the game, and our thoughts are with her and her family.
Brendon Gale - Richmond chief executive officer
Australian Football has lost one of its finest administrators and a wonderful person. Jill was a great friend and mentor to so many people throughout the football industry. Her knowledge of the game and its people was enormous, and she conducted herself with the utmost integrity and professionalism throughout her more than 40 years of service to the VFL/AFL.
What many Richmond supporters may not know is that Jill was one of them - a very keen Tiger fan. It was probably only Jill's total professionalism and dedication to her work at AFL headquarters that prevented her from more overtly showing her club allegiance. On behalf of the club, I extend deepest sympathies to Jill's family, friends and the AFL.
Kerrie Hayes - AFL Ceremonies producer 1986 - 2009
I shared the pressure and madness of 21 Grand Finals and numerous other "on-field" marquee events including Anzac Day and Dreamtime at the 'G with Jill Lindsay.
Each special event combined thousands of people, all with equally demanding requirements. They varied from stars to stage hands, from musicians to pyrotechnicians, from TV crews to Defence Force helicopter pilots and many more.
Never once did Jill say no. It was always "let's sit down and go through exactly how this works and what is required and why". She was a wonderful support to me. Her advice, wisdom and sense of humour refreshed us all many, many times. Over these years I was privileged when that professional relationship grew into a friendship. I have and always will value that friendship, Jill Lorraine.
Amanda Brookhouse - AFL corporate and community communications manager
I was fortunate enough to work with Jill on a number of events, most notably the Field of Women. Her ability to make things happen, to clear obstacles and get the job done was inspiring, even in difficult circumstances. She showed great respect for people and in turn, people respected her. To say Jill was a leader for women in the football industry is perhaps an understatement. She was a leader for all people in football.
Scott Munn - CEO of Melbourne Heart, was the AFL's licensing manager until 2009 where he worked closely with Jill on many matters of licensing, hoping (and generally failing) to push the envelope of on-field opportunities
Jill,
I think the renowned author, Dr Seuss, describes your journey best in his book "Oh, the places you'll go!"
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 per cent guaranteed.)
Kid, You'll move mountains!
Jill - You moved mountains!
Feargal McGill, Gaelic Athletic Association official and International Rules team manager
Jill was a rare character; a few of us were discussing our experiences with Jill this morning over a cup of coffee. It was sombre to begin with but ultimately the more we talked, the more we smiled and even laughed at the memory of Jill's unique bluntness and love of life. She was a unique character; I believe there was literally nothing she wouldn't say regardless of convention or perceived political correctness. She just called it as it was. A few minutes in her company could lift you out of even the darkest mood. Her tremendous wit and kindness of spirit will be sorely missed.
On my first couple of trips to Australia she had an almost motherly regard for a naive Irish youngster and wasn't afraid to scold me if I showed up in the morning a little worse for wear!!! To be honest, if you knew Jill for an hour, you felt you knew her all your life.
Please accept the deepest sympathies of everyone in the GAA on your loss. The Irish have a lovely saying at times like this in the Gaelic tongue "Níl sí imithe uainn ach romhainn" (roughly translated it means she's not gone from us, just from around us, or from our sight). I think that's the way it is with Jill; she mightn't just be there at work with you, but her spirit will always be with you.
