Ross Oakley, the man who oversaw the AFL's emergence from a Victorian competition, is now heading up the Victorian Rugby Union.

Oakley, who joined the VRU board a little more than a year ago, has been appointed acting chief executive.

He stepped into the breach after Jason Cornell resigned from the post on Tuesday, to pursue other career opportunities.

Oakley, who played 62 VFL games for St Kilda in the 1960s, was recruited to the board last year.

Victorian union officials wanted to tap into his administrative experience, as they established the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby club.

The Rebels will become the fifth Australian franchise in the expanded competition next year.

While the Rebels are independent of the VRU, the organisation has played a guiding hand given the new club's success is integral to the VRU's objective of building the sport in Victoria.

Oakley was VFL/AFL chief executive from 1986-96, with the competition officially becoming the AFL in 1990.

He is also remembered as the man whose administration made several attempts to orchestrate mergers between Victorian clubs, and ultimately succeeded in having Fitzroy join Brisbane to become the Brisbane Lions.

But angst over earlier merger attempts, most notably a 1989 plan to join Fitzroy with Footscray, prompted the creation of "Up Yours Oakley" bumper stickers.

At one stage armed guards were also stationed outside his family home.

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