Question Time For Clubs And The League

The Age

Thursday February 21, 2008

Michael Gleeson

CLUB presidents have joined Collingwood's Eddie McGuire in presenting a raft of questions on notice for the AFL they want answered at next month's meeting.

McGuire yesterday was given the chance to deliver his list of questions when he was seated next to AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and his deputy Gillon McLachlan on a flight to Sydney.

In a bid to expedite the process and ensure the March 13 meeting did not "turn into a bunfight", the clubs have spelt out their concerns and the issues they want addressed before further consideration be given to two new licences for clubs on the Gold Coast and in western Sydney.

"No doubt all of us will individually talk with the AFL but in a matter with such wide-ranging ramifications for all current clubs, I believe it is essential we move, from this moment forward, to have a transparent exchange of information so that everyone is clear as to what the competition, indeed each of our clubs, faces in the next 10 years," McGuire wrote in his letter to the other presidents and to the league.

The questions included:

"Where do the players come from? Will we receive compensation? Will the (new clubs) be privately owned? Will they warehouse players in the next number of drafts?

"What are the licences worth? Who gets that money? How many rounds of football? What days will they be played?

"Will the extra Total Player Payments continue to be fully funded by the AFL?

"Is there a stadium deal available now? Will zones be reintroduced for the new clubs?

"Will free agency be introduced as a result? What will happen to the competitive balance fund? Will there be money available for the development of current clubs?

"What data is available to show these zones will support a full-time team? How much will it all cost?

"Should we build up these markets before risking everything on the big play? Are 18 teams viable and will other clubs be induced to seek mergers?"

McGuire said all clubs had different concerns so it was appropriate to co-ordinate the questions.

"This is not about grandstanding or diminishing the power and responsibility of the commission, rather it is a course to expedite answers, allay fear, and to use our collective know-how to avert the costly mistakes that were a blight on our competition for nearly 25 years after the last expansion into these two states took place," he said.

"With such a huge decision to be made, we need to get as much detail before we waste any further time or get distracted from the main discussion. This seismic issue is no longer hypothetical, it's a reality."

© 2008 The Age

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