AFL clubs warned pay dispute no closer to resolution

PAY talks between the game’s 800 players and AFL chiefs have stalled and club bosses have been warned not to expect a resolution before Christmas.

AFL Players’ Association chief executive Paul Marsh. Picture: Stuart Walmsley

PAY talks between the game’s 800 players and AFL chiefs have stalled.

Club bosses were warned not to expect a resolution to the salaries standoff before Christmas.

Players are demanding a set percentage of the game’s rising revenues, a model used in other major sports.

“They’re a long way apart financially,” one club chief said.

The most recent five-year collective bargaining agreement expired last month with clubs still in the dark over the size of next year’s salary cap.

The AFL Players’ Association presented its full financial proposal to the AFL earlier this month.

The league, which presented its own pay offer in September, responded by cancelling two days of scheduled talks with the player union.

AFLPA chief Paul Marsh has maintained that the players are resolute in their push for a fixed cut of the game’s revenues.

No talks are planned for the coming weeks setting the scene for next year’s pre-season competition to be overshadowed by the pay fight.

Club chiefs were also updated on the AFL’s plans to overhaul Etihad Stadium and the league’s bid for State Government funding.

New stadium deals for Etihad’s five tenant clubs — Essendon, Carlton, North Melbourne, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs — will not be finalised until mid next year.