Leading the team at the Western Bulldogs

First things first

“I drop my son off at Grimwade House almost every morning. It’s nice to be part of how he begins his day.”

Setting the agenda

With an annual turnover nudging $60m and over $80m in net assets, the Western Bulldogs is a complex business as well as a football institution. Ameet leads around 230 employees, with around 100 being AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW players, plus a significant casual and paid volunteer workforce.

“It’s important to me to have as strong a working relationship as I can with everyone across the Club as it is so culturally beneficial.”

Building sponsor relationships

Ameet speaks with Channel 7 journalist, Jason Bennett, at a Club player sponsor event.

“We’re fortunate to have broad corporate support alongside our key supporter groups. We also run a player sponsor program, which gives sponsors a close connection with an individual player. Remarkably, some sponsors have been supporting our players for over 40 years.”

Keeping in contact

Managing relationships with Club stakeholders, the AFL, different levels of government and media is an important part of Ameet’s work.

“We are currently negotiating a contract extension with the Victorian Government and the City of Ballarat for the year-round community activities we run in Ballarat, along with our annual AFL and AFLW
games played there. Being a Bendigo boy, I have a really strong sense of how critical elite sport is to regional Victoria and the importance of the Club to Ballarat.”

Old Melburnian connections

The Bulldogs currently have two Old Melburnians in the AFL team: Alex Keath (OM 2010), who joined the Bulldogs from Adelaide Football Club in 2020, along with Ryley Sanders (OM 2023) who was drafted last year.

“Alex, Ryley and I were all Melbourne Grammar boarders, so we have a special connection.”

Showing support by showing up

For Ameet, being present at training and at games is an integral part of his role.

“Our Head of Football reports directly to me, and the senior coaches have a dotted reporting line to me. My responsibility for our football programs is generally at a macro level, but I love supporting our onfield people. I attend key weekly football meetings around once a month, meet senior staff and players regularly, attend every AFL/AFLW game and certain VFL/VFLW games.”

A working lunch

“My days are always full, so a working lunch is a useful way to help build relationships, as well as cover key work matters. Here I’m meeting with our General Manager, Digital, Media and Communications, to discuss media for the week ahead.”

Crucial community links

Ameet speaks at a Cultural Diversity event.

“The need to be socially and community minded is a non-negotiable for us. Much of our community work operates through the Club’s Community Foundation. It reaches more than 20,000 community members all the way from Footscray to the South Australian border each year through programs focused on health and wellbeing, youth leadership, cultural diversity, social inclusion and community advocacy.”

Touring new facilities

Ameet meets with the General Manager, Women’s Football and the AFLW Senior Coach in the new Victoria University High Performance Centre, which includes an indoor training field, cardio heat chamber, aquatics zone, and state-of-the-art medical facilities alongside the AFL’s largest elite training gym.

“The growth of women’s football is critical for us culturally and for growing participation and audiences. It’s also given aspiring girls a pathway to play football at the highest level. We support our AFL and AFLW programs equally.”

Building a legacy

Led by Ameet, the $80M redevelopment of the Mission Whitten Oval features spacious, cutting-edge training and administration facilities for Bulldogs players and staff, along with several match day venue improvements. It has also led to the creation of dedicated community spaces, a 400-person function centre and will soon house a Women’s Health and Leadership Hub.

“I’m simply a custodian of the club for the period I’m here. To be able to lead a project like this, knowing the legacy it creates, is humbling.”

A rare moment at the desk

“I might get time to sit at my desk during the day, but it’s more likely I’ll get paperwork done after hours or when travelling.

“My days are often full of meetings which can canvass anything from finance to football but, depending on which day we’re playing and where, the structure of our week changes. Everything works backwards from the game.”

Game day

Bulldogs Board members, corporate partners and key individual supporters regularly attend Club matches.

“At home games the Club has many operational responsibilities, including fan engagement, corporate functions and match day entertainment. Sometimes I’m privileged to host a friend and legend of the game like Eddie Betts.”