The four Australian Football League "powerhouse" clubs have slashed more than A$6M ($4.7M) from their football budgets this year as the new equalization tax "forces a radical revision of previous spending patterns," according to Denham & Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN. The "savage and unexpected budget crunch is revealed in confidential figures" relating to '15 football department estimates. Collingwood, the club that led the protest against the new tax, has "reluctantly fallen into line with the AFL ruling and will not pay the soft-cap surcharge." It has "lodged budget figures with the league" detailing how it will come in under the A$9.3M ($7.2M) threshold on football department spending. The figures are an early indication that the principle of the new competitive balance measures "appears to be working." Initial figures submitted to the league indicate a maximum of three clubs will "pay a football department tax this year -- Fremantle, West Coast and Hawthorn." The Dockers, which have "topped the competition’s overall football department expenditure for the past two years," have budgeted to cut spending by A$2.5M ($2M) yet will still "bust the cap." To ensure it does not breach the cap, Collingwood has "made cuts across the various disciplines" within its football budget to make savings worth A$1.9M ($1.5M) (THE AUSTRALIAN, 6/12).
