A "proposed tax on football department spending" as part of a ''three levers'' approach will be one suggestion players discuss to help close the gap between the rich and poor clubs, according to Pierik & Quayle of THE AGE. The Australian Football League PA will hold its "annual two-day directors and delegates' conference from Tuesday." Equalization is one of the "key issues facing the league, with several measures up for discussion and the AFLPA wanting every player to have an equal chance of success," no matter which club they are drafted to. The AFL and AFLPA have "yet to settle on an ideal figure for football department spending, but teams that exceeded this would have that added portion taxed," with the money directed into a central pool and "spread to clubs most in need." AFLPA CEO Matt Finnis would not discuss "specific plans" but said that players' salaries were the "only capped expenditure line within clubs." Finnis: "It concerns us immensely that you can have a player drafted in the same round of the draft as one of his peers and over the course of the first three to four years of their playing life, work in environments where there's a A$10 million difference allocated to their professional development" (THE AGE, 12/10).
