As AFL boss Gillon McLachlan admitted some disappointment in the bitter personal stoush between McGuire and Sydney’s Andrew Pridham, Newbold called for an overhaul of both the academy and the father-son bidding system.

''I don’t want to get involved in the issue between the personalities,'' Newbold told Fairfax Media, ''but I think Eddie’s right to question this. For there to continue to be anomalies in the draft when we are contributing $1.3 million to help equalise the competition is wrong. Why wouldn’t we want a pure draft?

''I think on that issue Eddie’s right. The AFL is contributing $250,000 to each academy. That’s money all the clubs are contributing. We would love to have academies here but I completely understand that we need to find more talent in the northern states. I just think it needs to be appropriately priced.

''I would change father-son as well. They have got to be priced proportionately. That’s the basis on which we agreed to tip so much money in. We want a pure draft.''

McLachlan is understood to have told the coaches who attended his private dinner on Monday night that the AFL would change the academy bidding system and potentially that of the similar father-son mechanism.

His AFL lieutenant, Andrew Dillon, has been working all year on changes to the bidding system. One change could rule out a club taking two academy or father-son prospects in the same draft should they both be regarded as worthy of first-round picks. But McLachlan reiterated again in Sydney on Wednesday that the academies and their AFL funding would stay.

Newbold said he shared McGuire’s misgiving that Sydney’s academy jet Isaac Heeney – touted as a top-three national draft prospect – could be taken by Sydney at between pick No. 18 or No. 20 should the Swans win the premiership. Next year, the Swans' academy has another highly rated prospect in Callum Mills.

However Collingwood could also be advantageously placed should its on-field prospects improve given that Peter Moore’s son Darcy is regarded by some experts as a top-five pick. Currently the rule governing both academies and father-son states that should another club attempt to gain that player and nominate a certain round pick the club which holds the rights to that player must give up its next available pick.

The new AFL CEO’s comments followed further equalisation talks on Monday attended by both McGuire and Newbold in which both working party presidents urged McLachlan to fix the compromised draft and the academy bidding system.

In the past 17 years, just 10 players from NSW have been drafted, most by Greater Western Sydney as list-build bonuses.

McGuire’s inference that the Swans were ''hiding'' talented academy players so antagonised Sydney coach John Longmire that he withdrew from any role in the International Rules team of which McGuire has been appointed chef de mission.

Sydney chairman Pridham described McGuire as the ''Clive Palmer of the AFL'' and McGuire in turn questioned Pridham’s experience and knowledge of football.

''The personalities are not something I’m keen to buy into,''’ said Newbold. ''But there are some genuine issues here. I acknowledge the right of the players to introduce free agency but I’ve always said if you are at the bottom of the cycle it’s going to hurt you. Look at Melbourne. To attract Chris Dawes from Collingwood they had to overpay him.

''Geelong is well-governed, they recruit and self-develop well. But now they could get James Frawley and why wouldn’t he want to move into their system? The horse has bolted with free agency but it clearly benefits the wealthy clubs and the top players at a time we are trying to equalise the competition.''