HAWTHORN president Andrew Newbold has launched a thinly-veiled attack at his Geelong counterpart Colin Carter after the Cats president accused the Hawks and Collingwood of hijacking the equalisation debate.
Carter blasted Newbold and Pies president Eddie McGuire this week for negotiating an equalisation deal he believed "screwed" the Cats and weakens the middle-tier of clubs like Geelong against their wealthier rivals.
Newbold hit back in his president's address at the MCG before the Hawks went into battle against the Magpies and called for "people to put their own selfish point-of-view aside".
He also joked that McGuire could not be at the pre-game function because he was "out fixing up" Carter.
"There's been a lot said and written this week about it – much of it is nonsense," Newbold said.
"Some have suggested that Eddie and I hijacked the debate, well we didn't do a very good job.
"I can tell you one thing, if we had hijacked the debate we wouldn't each be contributing $1.3m over the next two years.
"What this code occasionally needs is for people to put their own selfish point-of-view aside and focus on the game so that it may be nurtured and get better for all involved.
"In my view, Collingwood and Hawthorn have done just that. While strictly speaking the measures introduced will hurt both of our clubs in the short term it will be better for the code and in turn better for both of our clubs in the long run."
Newbold suggested the equalisation measures – which include a soft cap on football department spending and a luxury tax applied for spend above the cap – might need to be “tweaked” after the initial two-year period, starting from 2015.
"The review of the equalisation measures will be important in two years' time," he said.
"The policy settings may need to be tweaked and in my view we should not look upon these as the long-term model because Collingwood and Hawthorn expect the recipient clubs to sustain themselves in due course.
"That will come if all clubs work diligently and within the rules and that last point is important. The rules will no longer be able to be broken without drastic consequences.
"Contributing clubs like Collingwood, West Coast and Hawthorn will not tolerate the rules being broken.
"Severe penalties will be insisted upon so that we get a pure competition. Which, after all, is what everyone wants."
Newbold also used his address to praise interim coach Brendon Bolton for his transition into the senior role in Alastair Clarkson's absence, and said the Hawks were undertaking a facility review that the club regarded as a "100-year decision".
