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Player Managers attend annual Agents Conference

The annual AFL Players’ Association Accredited Agents Conference was held this week, with 75 agents attending the event at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

AFL Players’ Association Interim CEO Ian Prendergast said the benefits of the conference are twofold; it serves as an opportunity for the ‘PA to provide agents with up to date information, but also gives agents the opportunity to offer insights into some of the issues and challenges they face within the industry.

“There’s always a lot of work that comes out of these conferences, in terms of the feedback that’s provided by agents,” Prendergast said.

“Given the number of ongoing discussions with the AFL on issues that are affecting our players, it comes at a great time.”

The Agents Conference began with an induction session for the 10 new agents before leading into a set of workshops and open discussions about various player issues including concussion, the CBA, equalisation and mental health.

Agents had the opportunity to express their views on what they think are the biggest issues for players and agents and make recommendations for improvement on particular rules and regulations.

As part of the conference, beyondblue chairman Jeff Kennett appeared as a guest speaker, presenting on issues relating to mental health.

The two-day conference is part of the accreditation requirements for player agents.