''I can honestly say COLA [the cost-of-living allowance] has in no way assisted us in the recruiting of a player,'' Ireland said. ''COLA had no bearing on our ability to recruit Lance Franklin. We wanted to recruit Lance Franklin and we made subsequent changes to our list accordingly. Jude Bolton and Marty Mattner retired, Shane Mumford went to Greater Western Sydney, Jesse White went to Collingwood, Tony Armstrong went to Collingwood and Andrejs Everitt went to Carlton. In Lance's case, it was free agency. He wanted to come to us and it was no different to any other player moving clubs.'' Hay Group, a Philadelphia-based company with an Australian base in Melbourne, has been instructed by the Swans to examine a number of controversial topics connected to the allowance, including the question of whether high-priced recruits such as Franklin should qualify. ''We have outlined to them the contentious issues and explained how COLA works,'' said Ireland, who added he had no specific expectations of the report to be presented to the AFL except that he remained in no doubt that the living costs in Sydney remained significantly higher than any other Australian city. Contrary to the views and beliefs of most other clubs - Port Adelaide chairman David Koch was the most recent critic - Ireland said it was unfair to expect Franklin to live in circumstances below the standard he afforded in Melbourne.

''The highest-paid player in Sydney should have the same buying capabilities as the highest-paid player in Melbourne,'' he said. ''The buying capabilities should be equal for every player on relative contracts around Australia.'' The prevailing view is that the Franklin recruitment - Sydney shocked the industry by signing the Hawthorn premiership player to a $10million, nine-year deal - will prove the final straw for the extra player payments afforded to Sydney and the fledgling GWS. The Franklin bombshell angered the AFL and led to some heated discussions, including an angry telephone conversation between commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and outgoing Sydney chairman Richard Colless. While the two Sydney-based clubs worked together last year in a bid to fight the removal of the allowance, the bitterness emerging from the Franklin signing caused a fracture in relations between the two clubs and Sydney is now acting alone. One proposal is for the extra allowance to be halved, while several clubs are pushing for it to be paid only to the bottom half of wage earners at the Swans.

GWS could be compensated with an expansion or retention allowance - similar to that once allocated to the Brisbane Lions and Sydney, until Brisbane became too successful in its premiership years of 2001-03. ''Our view is that it is a fair equalisation measure - not the other way around,'' Ireland said. ''We think if you take it away then it is disequalisation.'' Ireland said the removal of the cost-of-living allowance could force his club to operate at 90 per cent of the total player payments, in practical terms. ''If it is taken away and the players genuinely need it to afford to live in equal circumstances here, then they won't play here. ''That means we are going to have to take the extra out of our salary cap, which puts us, in real terms, at 90 per cent of the cap.'' Koch recently joined a chorus led by Carlton and Geelong, among others, when he said the allowance must be removed.

''Yes, Sydney is more expensive, but there are more commercial opportunities than for an Adelaide player,'' he said. ''The Swans are big boys now. You are a glamour team. Glamour teams don't need cost-of-living allowances.'' AFL executive Gillon McLachlan said a decision on COLA would be part of the AFL's complex equalisation measures to be rolled out before mid-season and looking certain to include an extra tax on clubs who exceed an expected cap on football-department spending. Loading The equalisation working party, which includes club presidents Andrew Newbold and Peter Gordon, met at AFL headquarters on Friday. Ireland will join his club's new chairman Andrew Pridham, coach John Longmire and Australian of the Year Adam Goodes at a dinner with the commission and AFL broadcast partners Channel Seven and Foxtel on Monday night. GWS coach Leon Cameron and Giants bosses Tony Shepherd and Dave Matthews will also attend.