The view from some interstate clubs was that the meeting, called outside of the official president catch-ups, had been seen as something of a return to the "old days" when Victorian clubs felt they ruled the competition. Another suggestion was that the meeting had been called so Kennett could improve his strained relationship with clubs, having angered a few over his pre-season criticism of international expansion, claims the Saints were "insolvent" and others were "mendicant".

Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane said he had contacted Kennett and questioned why he had not been invited.

"From my point of view, I expressed my disappointment to Jeff and Jeff explained why they did it the way they did it and let's just hope it was a one off, that in future we all meet as presidents because as I clearly point out, the A in the AFL stands for Australia," he said on Tuesday.

"It's not a question of power - the game's power comes from the fact it is truly a national code and that's why it gets the media rights deals it gets. It has nine games spread across Australia every week, which is clearly the power of the sum for all of us. That's what makes us uniquely the No. 1 sport in the country and I don't think it's a question of power - we are much, much stronger than divided."

St Kilda president Peter Summers was among those presidents not to attend.