Pay deal closer but may not be finalised before Round 1

AFLPA boss Paul Marsh is confident an end to the competition’s long-running pay saga is near but he isn’t making any promises that it will be done by Round 1.

AFL Players’ Association boss Paul Marsh is confident an end to the competition’s long-running pay saga is near but he isn’t making any promises that it will be done by Round 1.

Marsh has been engaging in weekly discussions with league powerbrokers in an attempt to secure a new collective bargaining agreement for the game’s 817 players.

The last deal expired in October.

But while things are “progressing” after a recent stalemate, a “mechanism” that will guarantee the players a cut of any unbudgeted industry revenues across the next six seasons remains a sticking point.

“There’s two parts to this — there is the forecast revenue and I think we’ve said for a long time now that that is a known parcel of revenue, so we’re happy to agree to a number based on what’s known,” Marsh said.

“That would, in our mind, still be a percentage of it. But we need a mechanism (for) when unbudgeted revenue ends up being more than budgeted revenue or actual revenue becomes more than forecast.

“That’s a key issue that we’re working through. The AFL understand the issues with this and I’m pretty confident we’ll get there.”

AFL Players' Association CEO Paul Marsh says a new pay deal is near. Picture: Stuart Walmsley

He said it “doesn’t matter” whether things are signed off by the time the season begins on March 23, but conceded “it would be nice”.

“It would be a nice thing to get this out the way so the season can get started, but there’s still work to be done and I’m not making any promises that we’ll get there by that date,” he said.

“Every day we’re getting closer.”

The association launched its 2017 season in Melbourne on Tuesday night, hours after holding its annual general meeting.

Collingwood captain and five-time All-Australian Scott Pendlebury joins Bulldog Easton Wood, Carlton’s Sam Docherty and Giant Phil Davis in joining the association’s board following Tuesday’s annual general meeting.

The association’s constitution was changed to allow female members to have full membership, including voting rights, with Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce the first female elected to the board.

Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury has joined the AFLPA board. Picture: Getty Images

Pendlebury, 29, said the pay deal is spoken about among players at the Holden Centre and he remains firm that players “wouldn’t rule out” strike action if necessary.

“If it happens before the season, that’s great, but it’s something that we won’t rule out,” he said.

Wood said while he is passionate about the issue of gambling, player welfare is top of his agenda.

A mandate to have at least one AFLW player on the AFLPA board at all times was also passed.

Two positions are also vacant for non-football figures to join.

Recently-retired Fremantle star Matthew Pavlich - who remains the association president - was also recognised as the 2016 Madden Medallist at the event.

The Madden Medal is awarded to a retiring player who has demonstrated on-field excellence, personal development and growth and community spirit over their career.

“My career on the field was very important but I tried to never be defined by results on the field. I wanted to be known for more than just being a footballer,” the 353-game former Docker said.

“I like to think that there’s some deeper layers to me than just what I did on the field.”