Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale says AFL clubs can make themselves “unassailable” if they nail the thorny issue of equalisation.
Gale and the other 17 club chief executives will hold a two-day meeting in country Victoria from Wednesday and equalisation is certain to be their main topic.
The Tigers boss was in a party of senior AFL and club officials who went to the United States last week to learn more about the equalisation issue.
“It’s very complicated and the devil is in the detail,” Gale told 3AW.
“This is a very significant issue and this is something that can set the code up for the next 25-30 years and make us unassailable.
“We need to really think through all the options and not rush.”
Gale said the first step was for clubs to be united on the equalisation issue.
“First and foremost, we need to have a philosophical commitment to competitive balance and if we do, we need to acknowledge that because of the fixture, because of the stadium deals, some clubs cop it in the neck and can’t compete on even terms,” he said.
“They need to be supported.”
The AFL party looked at Major League baseball, the NBA and the NFL during the trip.
“The one thing we take away from there is at the various stages of each code’s history, when they’ve really rolled the sleeves up and done some heavy lifting and tackled competitive balance and revenue sharing … it’s paved the way for growth and prosperity,” he said.
“The beauty of these sorts of trips is you don’t rule anything in or out.”