Australian Football League side Collingwood President Eddie McGuire said that "Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs have 'stuffed' their list management so badly that strong consideration should be given to giving them an enlarged salary cap," according to Jon Pierik of THE AGE. Melbourne's "plight on and off the field has become a major concern," with uncertainty over coach Mark Neeld's future, suggestions of a A$3M ($2.9M) debt and "the prospect of having senior players poached at the end of the season." AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou has left the door ajar for the AFL Commission to use its discretion to award Melbourne a priority pick "should they continue to sink," but McGuire said that is not the way to go. McGuire said, "I think at the moment you have two sides that have been cut adrift too far and because they have stuffed it up along the way, let's just not completely absolve them of their sins. But because of this perfect storm, these two clubs are now in big trouble unless they get a bit of help along the way.'' McGuire said that "the Bulldogs and Melbourne would be better off being handed" an extra A$2M apiece to spend on players (THE AGE, 5/28). ... In Melbourne, Jon Ralph wrote Melbourne could be faced with an A$5M black hole over the next two years, "given poor crowd projections, payouts to key staff and revenue shortfalls." New Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson has already forecast a "huge loss this season and said little would change next year if the revenue base did not grow." Melbourne has just wiped out a A$5M debt, but faces "being plunged deep back into the red, given its horrific season" (HERALD SUN, 5/29).
