The mastermind of the 1996 Melbourne takeover of Hawthorn has done a compete 180 both in philosophy and in terms of Hawthorn’s place in the football landscape
Graeme Samuel, the only man to have been both an AFL and rugby league commissioner, has drawn a sharp contrast between a professional AFL and less professional NRL as the codes confront financial crises.
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Samuel, who called for a series of mergers between Melbourne clubs in 1995 and was a proponent of mergers in the '80s and '90s before recanting, said the AFL's ability to support weaker clubs, via a centralised administration, was a strength of the competition.
"That's part of the strength of the AFL, is that it's able to, you know, in normal circumstances, is able to sustain weaker clubs, those that don't have the strength of the Collingwoods and the Richmonds, the West Coast Eagles, and the Hawthorns.
"That's the great strength of the AFL and that's the role of the central body, is to maintain a successful, highly competitive competition.''