The recently departed Hawthorn president would love to see the Western Bulldogs win their second premiership.
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Andrew Newbold has accepted a position on the AFL Commission after stepping down as Hawthorn president, a role he held since 2011.
The Hawks have recently enjoyed an extraordinary period of dominance, winning three premierships in a row, but Newbold told SEN his priority would be making all the teams competitive and self-sustaining.
"At the moment we've got the haves and the have-nots still, I think it's really important that all the clubs have at least a break-even position," he said.
The Western Bulldogs have not won a premiership since 1954 and Newbold said he had left a message for Doggies president Peter Gordon on Wednesday night saying he hoped they found success soon.
"I'd love to see the Bulldogs win their second flag while I'm on the commission, those little things would be very satisfying," he said.
But Newbold said the AFL's revenue sharing model was not necessarily the best way to even the playing field between the teams.
Part of the problem smaller clubs faced was the high cost of playing at stadiums, which will be helped when the AFL acquires Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. The AFL can take ownership of the stadium in March 2025.
"I think it's a key plank to making clubs like St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs and Kangaroos a lot more self sufficient and profitable," he said.
Newbold said his decision to take up a position on the AFL commission was unrelated to his choice to step down from Hawthorn.
"I sort of felt that 13 years [on the Hawks board] was a long time and it was time to hand over to someone else," he said.
"You still have a soft spot for a club you've invested a lot in, but at the end of the day you're there to do a job," he said.
