'I don't mind the tax on footy departments but this notion of a cap of half-a-million dollars on the rich clubs is a joke. 'The taxation has been hopelessly compromised because Eddie refused to pay it,' Carter said. Carter added he had outlined his disappointment with the AFL's disproportionate taxation measures in a yet-to-be-delivered letter to AFL chiefs Mike Fitzpatrick and McLachlan.Ĭarter's written protest which he said contained 'moderately intemperate language' was awaiting delivery pending a meeting this week designed to outline and potentially alleviate the Cats' misgivings between Geelong chief executive Brian Cook and AFL executive Sam Graham. The Geelong president was a key architect of the 1985 national competition lay-out and said that back then most of the wealthy clubs had better understood the need for the uncertain onfield outcomes. The small clubs are being forced to play at Etihad Stadium which is too large generally for their attendances and it continues to hurt their economies.'

And it should have been linked to the various stadium agreements. 'The compensation should have been linked to the fixture which is significantly unequal when you consider a game like Anzac Day is worth $1 million to those clubs. 'Instead Eddie (McGuire) and Andrew (Newbold, the Hawthorn president) started screaming about the game taking away their hard-earned and they succeeded in getting a deal which weakens the position of the middle clubs against the wealthy. They could have achieved a better outcome and everything they intended to achieve by compensation. 'I had great support for the AFL carting some clubs off to the US in an an attempt to demonstrate their point but the mistake they made is they allowed the conversation to be hijacked by taxation. 'One is the equalisation method itself and two is the fact that Geelong is being screwed. 'There are two major issues here,' Carter said. Geelong's misgivings are shared to varying degrees by Essendon, Adelaide, Fremantle, Carlton and Richmond – all middle-ranked clubs.

Geelong made a $1.2 million profit last season compared with Collingwood's $5.2 million but concerted lobbying by the Magpies saw the revenue tax capped at $500,000 compared with the Cats' $300,000.

Magpie by Piper Scott