The draft age should be lifted to 19, the AFL must hang onto Etihad Stadium as insurance, and the league will benefit hugely from the relocation of an established club such as North Melbourne to Tasmania, according to former AFL chief executive Wayne Jackson.

The Jackson revelations came this week during an interview with ESPN, 20 years after the South Australian took charge of the AFL during one of its most volatile periods.

The former supremo also criticised players for having too much power in the drawn-out pay dispute between the AFL and the AFL Players' Association.

"I think the players are having far too much influence and are putting undue pressure on the game," Jackson told ESPN. "I think the distribution of money within the game should be left to the [AFL] Commission. The players are wanting amounts that exceed what is acceptable to most in the community."

Former AFL CEO Wayne Jackson and Andrew Demetriou speak to the media in 2002. Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

Jackson became the league's chief executive in 1996, a tumultuous year for the AFL in which Melbourne and Hawthorn went within a whisker of merging, and Fitzroy were disbanded with 10 of their players sent to Brisbane in what was effectively a sham marriage. It was also a year before the launch of South Australia's second side, Port Adelaide, raising the number of teams in the competition to 16.

The fragility of the AFL at the time was almost at breaking point, given the lingering financial insecurity of established Victorian clubs such as Hawthorn, Melbourne and Footscray.

But by the end of his eight-year reign, Jackson would preside over a then-record $Aus500 million broadcast deal that saw coverage shift from the Seven Network to a partnership of the Nine Network, Network Ten, and Foxtel.

Jackson, 72, is now a part-time farmer in the rural South Australian town of Willalooka.

ESPN spoke to Wayne Jackson about the state of the game and what challenges lay ahead for the league.

Do you think the AFL is as healthy as it's ever been?

Yes I do. With the odd hiccup or two, there's more people playing the game, the roots are spread much wider throughout Australia and we now are making it really attractive to women with the national competition. Broadcast rights are also at an all-time high.

What are the challenges facing the AFL?

In the shorter term and maybe the medium term, I think the players are having far too much influence and are putting undue pressure on the game. I think the distribution of money within the game should be left to the Commission. The players are wanting amounts that exceed what is acceptable to most in the community. If there is surplus money available, it should go back into the development of the game and not to the players, who are already attractively paid.

If you were back in charge, what changes would you make to the game?

I think it's improved in the last year with the advent of the coaches making the game more attacking and therefore more attractive. I think the game tends to evolve. If there are problems, evolution gets on top of that. I've got no strong thoughts on how to improve it.

Is an 18-club league viable?

It's viable while the AFL continues to support the under-performing clubs in a financial sense. I think as we move closer to the time at which Etihad Stadium will return to the ownership of the league -- which will be a tremendous boost to the league -- well that will support in a financial sense clubs that play there now. I would love to see a team or two move from Melbourne but I think we missed that opportunity when the Gold Coast Suns started.

Should Tasmania be granted an AFL licence?

No I don't think so, because there is plenty of AFL football played in Tasmania now with Hawthorn and, increasingly, the Kangaroos in Hobart. Tasmania itself is divided into north and south, so it doesn't present a united front in terms of a club being based down there. I would love to see a club like, for example North Melbourne, relocate from Melbourne and based in Tasmania. That would be a terrific boon for the game. But I certainly don't think there should be a 19th team in the AFL.

Hobart's Blundstone Arena in 2016. Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Are you troubled by the state of football in Queensland?

I would have thought the state of football generally in Queensland is very strong. But if you're referring specifically to the Brisbane Lions, I would think anyone that is interested in football would want to see them do substantially better than they are. But the growth of the game is terrific up there. I think they have the fastest growth rate for women in football of any state in Australia. The Lions need urgent AFL attention to get them back on track.

Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Do you think the current fixture format is fair?

I think it's as fair as it can be with a 22-game competition. I've read with interest the thoughts of dividing the league into three sections of six, which may help in the shorter term, but I just draw your attention to the fact that this time last year if you thought you had to play GWS twice, you would be pretty pleased with it. Now they're a team to be reckoned with. It changes quickly and next year you'll see Essendon come right up the table. I'm not sure how you make it even, particularly when you try to foresee the strength of teams a year out.

Is the illicit drugs policy effective?

I don't know enough about the policy to comment. Obviously the AFL is super sensitive to drugs and I would have though the AFL is doing a pretty good job in that regard in relation to what's available in the rest of society.

Do you think Etihad Stadium should be sold to finance a new stadium?

No. I believe Etihad Stadium should be in the hands of the AFL, which it will be in a couple of years, because I think that will be a huge insurance against whatever happens to the MCG over time. I think the AFL needs to own and control at least one Melbourne-based stadium and that should be Etihad.

Melbourne's Etihad Stadium. Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Would you support a push to lift the draft age to 19?

Yes. I now believe the draft age is too young. Leagues outside the AFL would improve and nothing would be lost be the AFL clubs if they all have to wait another year to select the player. If all clubs are treated the same, none are disadvantaged. I think it's very important that young lads be given time at home to study or to work in their formative years to late teens.