Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham has questioned whether the AFL should issue Eddie McGuire a "please explain" following the Collingwood president's stinging criticism of Greater Western Sydney.
In a seemingly unlikely union, Pridham went into bat for the Giants on Thursday, as the feud between the expansion club and the Magpies rolled on.
McGuire responded to GWS chairman Tony Shepherd's threat to resign if McGuire got his wish for the Giants to be stripped of their exclusive rights to talent in various parts of NSW, particularly the Riverina region.
Giants Matthew Kennedy (left) and Jacob Hopper (right) were both acquired last year as part of GWS' zone concessions Photo: Daniel Kalisz
The media figure jokingly told Triple M that "we'll miss Tony," before calling on "a couple of very, very weak people in football [to] step up for once" in relation to the Giants, widely considered to be a rising power.
McGuire said GWS' list – boosted by generous draft concessions on their entry to the league in 2012 – was "getting out of kilter".
The Giants have priority access to highly rated teenage quartet Kobe Mutch, Zach Sproule, Will Setterfield and Harrison Macreadie.
"Now is the time to make adjustments before it goes too far," McGuire said.
In response, Pridham said it was time for the AFL to act in relation to McGuire, with whom the Swans have repeatedly argued over a range of issues.
"I think the AFL should [stand up to McGuire]," Pridham told Fairfax Media.
Tony Shepherd says he's had enough: Pic: Getty Images
"He basically said that GWS are cheating the salary cap. If I had have said that about another club publicly, I'd be expecting a massive 'please explain'."
An AFL spokesman said the league would be "duty-bound" to respond to a club request for an investigation, but the league was yet to be asked for one formally.
While Pridham stressed that he was "not on an anti-Eddie crusade," he maintained there was a line of acceptable behaviour for club chiefs which needed to be preserved.
"It's up to the AFL [to issue a 'please explain.']
"But I've long been of the view that there's a certain standard that should be expected of senior club officials, and I think Eddie repeatedly struggles to balance his position in the media with his position as a club president.
"I think that needs to be addressed, and I think it's longer overdue. It's certainly not my role to be the 'Media Watch' and scrutineer of Eddie. That's not the position I'm after.
"But I would have thought that a club president saying on radio that another club is cheating the salary cap, I would have thought that's something that doesn't fall within the spirit or expectations of a club president. And it's up to the AFL to manage that. Not other clubs."
The issue came to a fore this week after GWS' strong start to the season, and the likelihood the Giants will be able to pluck several of the top draft prospects in coming years as a result of their concessions.
One club chief contacted by Fairfax Media was privately critical of GWS, frustrated by the expansion club's lack of investment in the region in light of the bounty they were reaping.
Pridham was also riled by McGuire's assertion that Pridham's predecessor, Richard Colless, had voted against the introduction of Greater Western Sydney to the league.
Andrew Pridham: Photo: Peter Braig
McGuire claimed that Colless had "stood up on the top of his chair" on the matter, a point strongly disputed by Pridham.
"It's pretty annoying when Eddie just makes stuff up, and just makes statements, and there's no accountability," Pridham said.
"I don't mind if people want to debate things, that's fine, but don't keep telling lies. I find that unacceptable.
"I was at the meeting when it was put to the club, and it was unanimous to bring them in.
"It's just factually incorrect, so I'm not going to let that fly by ever."
McGuire was contacted for further comment.
Pridham had earlier described a Triple M discussion on Wednesday as "typical rubbish" from "intellectual pygmies".
Just heard @triplemfooty audio from today re @sydneyswans and @GWSGIANTS. Typical rubbish from intellectual pygmies. Not a truth in sight.— Andrew Pridham (@Pridhamhq) May 4, 2016
He denied that the Sydney clubs had "a pact," after McGuire had quipped that the Swans and Giants were only united by their dislike for the Pies.
"We get on fine with the Giants, as we do with most clubs.
"There's no sort of pact, but I do believe in the importance of the academy system.
"So we're at one with that. Eddie has an opinion on a lot of things, has an enormous amount of influence, and when it suits him he likes to use it."
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire. Photo: Pat Scala
Pridham said that the AFL had to play the long-game when it came to measuring GWS' success.
"My view is, 'have a strategy and stick to it. Don't change the rules every six months."
