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AFL Players Association boss Paul Marsh has criticised the absence of his members from Australian sport’s top 50 earners.
But AFL legend Leigh Matthews disagrees sharply with Marsh’s comments.
Marsh went on Twitter a day after BRW released its annual sport rich list.
Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett was the only AFL player at No.47.
“An indictment on AFL that only 1 player makes top 50 highest earners in Australian sport despite being biggest sport,” Marsh posted on Tuesday.
But Matthews was unimpressed, also posting on Twitter.
“A domestic sport like the AFL would be bankrupted very quickly if we had more than an occasional player in Aus top 50 sports earners,” the multiple premiership player and coach said.
Marsh has expanded on his opinion, telling the AFL website that the game needs to attract the best talent.
“From our perspective, the players should be higher up that list,” he said.
“It’s really important for the game that we can attract the best athletes in the country.
“At the moment, other sports like cricket, basketball and soccer … are doing more to attract those elite (sportsmen).”
Marsh said it was not a great look for the league that only one of its players featured in the list.
“The AFL is the biggest sport in the country and some of the athletes probably work the hardest in the country,” he said.
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