Ainslie coach Chris Rourke fears a salary cap will leave the standard of the AFL Canberra competition in dire straits and see clubs entrenched in a battle to attract talent.
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AFL Canberra will introduce a $100,000 salary cap for the 2019 season as the governing body aims to close the gulf in a six-team league that has turned into a four-horse race.
The cap is an attempt to even out a league which has recently been dominated by wealthier clubs, with the Ainslie Tricolours in the midst of a dynasty which has bore three consecutive premiership victories.
It is a sorely needed measure for the likes of the Tuggeranong Hawks, who went winless this year, and the Gungahlin Jets, whose return of three victories was their best in recent memory.
"The days of bringing in the ex-AFL players, that’s over. We won’t be seeing anyone like that, we’ll lose a couple to the country on bigger dollars and our spending is very limited," Rourke said.
"It’s a concern that some of our players are getting offered really good money to go to the country. The concern, from my point of view, is that we’re just not attracting better players. That’s certainly disappointing.
"We appreciate AFL Canberra are trying to even the competition up, but from our point of view it’s going to bring the standard down. We can certainly appreciate that a couple of clubs struggle to pay any money."
AFL Canberra chief Steve Mahar says it is a concern the league may not see the Cowboy Neale's of the world join the capital's playing ranks, but players of such calibre coming to the ACT are "a very small minority".
Mahar is "relying on the clubs to buy into the process" with AFL Canberra introducing a portal system for clubs to enter player payments while integrity officers will monitor it.
AFL Canberra will continue to use a player points cap with the allocation being reduced to 35 points (from 36 in 2018) in a bid to encourage clubs to produce more juniors.
Ainslie were reduced to 34 points this season as an equalisation measure but it couldn't stop them from charging to another title, and now the Tricolours will be limited to 33 points in 2019.
"The points system is very black and white, it goes on the history of where you’ve played and things like that," Mahar said.
"The salary cap is another measure, and we’re conscious there is sometimes the perception around certain clubs… so players leave perceived poorer clubs in search of the best environment.
"We’re certainly trying to work with all clubs about increasing their standard and their playing environment. The salary cap is the measure we think can add value to the competition."
Tuggeranong coach Peter Ashcroft expects the Hawks will be more competitive next season but he is "certainly not" banking on a grand final appearance, conceding it may be a few years before the league reaps the full reward of a salary cap.
"We’re not going to go over it by any means and I don’t think anyone would expect that we would," Ashcroft said.
"It’s going to be tough to police it, that’ll be a decent job for AFL Canberra, but it’s something to try and bring us all back to a level playing field as much as we can.
"We certainly won’t complain about anything that’s taking us down that road. It helps a club that doesn’t have a licensed premises backing it, and if we try to even ourselves up, and make ourselves a bit more competitive with payments, we’re always going to be thankful for that."
A points system will also be introduced in the women's competition as more females turn their attention to football with an eye on the AFLW, capped at 32 points for the 16-a-side game with four bench players.
