The AFL ultimate goal in Australia, as Andrew Dillon puts it, is "to have footy in every home".

But as he enters his third season as the league's chief executive, Dillon oversees an organisation needing to better have its own house in order.

Rugby league boss Peter V'Landys mockingly said last month that his code leads the AFL "like you lead a horse". Dillon could retort that his rival is referring to a thoroughbred.

Replying to V'Landys' taunt, the AFL boss noted that Australian Rules "is the most attended, played and watched sport" in the country.

Still, even a Melbourne Cup winner can stumble. And the last 12 months will not go down as a banner period for the AFL.

On-field, the league became two-paced as a significant gap formed between the top nine teams and the rest.

Whatever its faults, the AFL usually runs a tight ship. But there were significant mis-steps as the league handled controversies involving players Willie Rioli and Lachie Schultz.

The process to replace chairman Richard Goyder became mired in footy politics and the AFL's determination to build a stadium in Hobart for the new Tasmanian team riled plenty of locals.

It's a good thing the finals series was so absorbing, capped by Brisbane winning back-to-back premierships.

But the feedback has been loud and clear.

"We in the executive are in the privileged position to be stewards of a game that means a lot to a lot of people," Dillon told AAP.

"How that manifests is people really care about the game and they care about the decisions you make, the way you go about making those decisions.

"What it also then impresses on you is you have to be at your best every single day. That's what we've been striving to do and what we'll continue to strive to do.

"It's not lost on us, how important the game is to so many people."

What's also notable over the last few months is the amount of change at the AFL.

For the first time in 26 years, the finals system will change. A wildcard round will extend the finals from the top eight teams to 10.

While Dillon said the AFL had been looking for several years at expanding the finals - a feature of American sports such as Major League Baseball - he acknowledged that the gap in the middle of the ladder last season had concentrated their thinking.

"Last year's season was different, particularly to the two before that, where you did have that clear delineation between the top nine and bottom nine," Dillon said.

"What we did see last year was an incredible finals series, where out of the nine finals, six of them were won by the lower-seeded team.

"But what I'm hoping for, and what I think ... you'll see teams jump up the ladder. We'll see more games of consequence and that's one of the reasons for the wildcard games."

A raft of rule changes will aim to the make the game quicker and shorten game time. The substitute on the interchange bench is gone.

The centre bounce, one of the AFL's core traditions, is also consigned to history.

The tribunal system remains a bugbear and this year's attempts at tightening that process will include harsher penalties for gut punches.

Dillon has also put his stamp on the executive, with Greg Swann recruited for a restructure of the league's football department.

How that's going, with Swann and incumbent Laura Kane splitting responsibilities, is a very good question. Swann is adamant that reports of a rift between them are wrong and "reheating old soup".

Tom Harley, like Swann a seasoned club boss, was also brought in as the AFL chief operating officer. Harley will be crucial to building better relations with the clubs.

Former Geelong president Craig Drummond will be the new chairman and after Goyder's nine-year term, he will oversee the Tasmania team joining the league in 2028.

For all the uncertainty, change and turbulence, the footy remains compelling.

Two-time Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow would love to kick a bag on Thursday night as he debuts for Sydney against his old team Carlton.

Sunday's MCG blockbuster - most likely a record home-and-away crowd for St Kilda - will feature Saints young gun Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Collingwood star Nick Daicos.

Can anyone stop a Brisbane three-peat? Will Gold Coast play them in a south-east Queensland grand final for the first time? Will Zak Butters stay at Port Adelaide beyond this season?

So many questions. And so little margin for error at the AFL - after a rocky year, they need to kick some goals.