telsor
Hall of Famer
No club owned by the members can be forced to relocate anywhere or merge with anyone. All that the AFL can do is to remove their licence. And even that could possibly be challenged in the courts.
People forget that with Fitzroy, the AFL had 'special circumstances' (AKA, they were able to manipulate the club into bankruptcy and worked the administrator).
Chances of that happening now without some massive policy changes (basically equalisation goes out the window for several years, if not forever) are slim, and they first club(s) to die wouldn't necessarily be the ones they want gone (GC, GWS, Brisbane, Port...). The other option (targeting one club) would almost certainly end up in the courts.