The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) is headhunting gun AFL administrator and strategist Gillon McLachlan to change its former chief executive David Gallop.

It is understood McLachlan, the man earmarked to sooner or later take above the reins from present AFL boss Andrew Demetriou, has been told by the ARL Commission “the occupation is yours if you want it”.

The commission’s total board is understood to have carried out interviews with several candidates as they search for the appropriate guy to replace Gallop, who walked away from Australia’s tough sporting publish on June 6.

It is believed the ARLC has short-listed three names for the part: McLachlan, Canterbury chief executive Todd Greenberg, who has strong support from inside of the game, and New Zealand rugby league boss Jim Doyle.

McLachlan, who joined the AFL in 2000 and is its chief operations officer, is really regarded inside of the AFL as a savvy operator.

Apart from negotiating the AFL’s most current record Television deal, he also secured over a billion dollars in funding from state and federal governments as element of a massive stadium redevelopment arrangement.

One thing in the NRL’s favour is that McLachlan understands he’ll have to carry on to bide his time for two or three much more many years before Demetriou is prepared to give him a shot at the leading work.

The NRL is understood to be ready to drastically bump up the $ 750,000-a-year salary paid to Gallop to land McLachlan, reportedly on a $ one million dollar-plus bundle with the AFL.

“They (NRL) would have go pretty higher to have a likelihood, but he’s certainly the man they want,” a source told AAP on Friday.

“He is thought of a gun operator inside of the AFL.”

Landing McLachlan would be a massive prize for rugby league provided he has this kind of an intimate expertise of their operating budgets, strategies and lengthy-phrase plans.

Former Melbourne Demons captain Garry Lyon stated poaching McLachlan from the AFL would be a massive coup for rugby league.

“If they are able to pull some thing like that off, I suggest that could be a true entire body blow to the AFL,” explained Lyon.

Although the commission, headed up by chairman John Grant, has given no indication as to when it will announce Gallop’s replacement, it is believed they are effectively sophisticated in the interview process and could make an announcement in the coming weeks.