AFL CHIEF executive Andrew Demetriou has called on the game to be "courageous" as the league prepares for expansion.

Speaking at the official 2008 season launch in Melbourne, Demetriou also announced a conference in November where the game's future will be discussed.

The conference will feature players, coaches, administrators and other figures in the game, including fans.

Demetriou announced a website, 150years.com.au, which he called "an ultimate ideas forum", where fans can offer their thoughts on the game's future.

The league is celebrating the game's 150th anniversary this year.

"We must remain single-minded, and courageous as we develop our game, and remain open to ideas from all directions to continue to grow our game for another 150 years," he said.

"We are in the middle of the most successful era in our history - it is the perfect time to invest for all time, to be aggressive, but to do it with care and respect for where we have been.

"We must be courageous."

The league is proceeding with plans to expand the competition from 16 to 18 teams, with new clubs earmarked for western Sydney and south-east Queensland.

"As we seek locations for new teams, we will make it our No.1 priority to engage with the local community," Demetriou said.

"We must engage, whether it be in south-east Queensland, the western suburbs of Sydney, the heart of Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth or in a yet unknown place or places anywhere in the world, we must engage."

Demetriou also reaffirmed the league's commitment to the existing clubs.

"We will continue to work with our clubs to find ways to make them stronger, to make them secure against outside forces," he said.

"Our game is financially strong, and it must continue to invest not just in green fields but what has made us the most dynamic sporting competition in Australia - our 16 clubs."

Demetriou referred to the ongoing issue of player behaviour off the field when he spoke about the league's relationship with "the broader community".

"Every policy we enact with our players will take consideration of its impact on the broader community," he said.

"We must take the positive influences of our racial and religious vilification laws as a model for all we do, in codes of conduct, behaviour on an off the field, the way we conduct ourselves as people, and members of the community."