"The smaller clubs need to get a cheque in a different way." The contract between the MCC-MCG Trust and AFL is due to expire in 2037. During tense negotiations with the MCC in 2009 over the need for more funds to be directed to clubs, the AFL threatened to shift the grand final – once the contract expired. Sydney's ANZ Stadium would be an obvious choice should that ever eventuate. In a wide-ranging interview screening on Fox Footy on Tuesday night, McGuire had a mixed response on equalisation issues. On the possibility of having the country's biggest club having regular 1pm Sunday matches — considered one of the least preferable time slots — he responded to Koch: "You give (Channel Seven boss) Tim Worner a ring and tell him that you aren't going to bring in the revenue." However, as part of an overall debate on equalisation, he later said to Koch: "What I am saying is a giant yes to all that, I agree with that, but enough is enough. Don't pull us down. Don't let Melbourne Victory get past us. Let us challenge – let us get out and do things. Let us be Collingwood, so we can share that money." Another issue was the ongoing broadcast rights negotiations, with the AFL expecting about $1.7 billion from the next five-year deal – up from the current $1.25 billion contract which expires after the 2016 campaign.

McGuire and Koch also had a heated debate over what was needed for the AFL to pocket a major rise. Koch said the battle to win over the rugby-league driven northern states was crucial. "GWS has to win in western Sydney for us as a code to flourish," he said. "You need the northern states for TV rights. Forget Essendon and Carlton and getting them back up, the future and the media rights is all about Queensland and NSW." McGuire stressed the importance of having Essendon emerge from the ongoing anti-doping saga which is now before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, while he felt Carlton needed to rebuild quickly. "I reckon the AFL CEO would hope that Essendon can get through their mess as quickly as possible and that Carlton gets back up because for all those people out there (western Sydney), they are not too much into it at the moment," he said.

"For the TV rights, you want to get Carlton and Essendon and those big clubs up and going. The future of the next TV rights is all about Victoria." McGuire's opposition to the recently introduced revenue tax has been well documented, and he reiterated that stance, declaring it was the league's responsibility — and not that of the power clubs — to generate more money for the smaller clubs. "I believe in equalisation, just as I believe in (youth) academies. But Peter (Gordon) has the greatest form of equalisation – it's (paying) 100 per cent of the salary cap and an equal opportunity to recruit players. After that, it's rats and mice," he said. "You want to make sure that there is a minimum amount for a club to be able to have the right doctors and the rest of it. "But it's not Collingwood's responsibility to fund all of that. We have got to fund our own things. We are a club that has got aspirations to do other things.