The AFL has been challenged to do more to raise attendances of smaller profile clubs ahead of a key meeting of club presidents next week.

The meeting – on Andrew Demetriou’s last day as AFL chief executive – is likely to put equalisation back at the forefront of the league’s agenda.

Measures that dish out funding – such as a luxury tax on football spending, and ending the cost of living allowance – have been previously tabled.

But for Western Bulldogs president Michael Gordon, a leading advocate for a more hearty sharing of the footy dollar, said it’s time for the discussion to enter a new phase.

“The next round on this topic is not going to be about compensating with money … but fixing the structural inequities,” he told ABC radio.

With Adelaide clubs playing in a rejuvenated stadium, and Perth set to get a new one, it’s the poorer Melbourne clubs that are most feeling the squeeze.

And in the climate of falling attendances, Gordon felt strongly enough to challenge the AFL to give the smaller clubs like his a leg up.

“The next time you hear the AFL brag about or talk about total attendances being up, listen to whether they also say and we’ve raised the attendances of the bottom four or five,” he said.

“Those are the real measures by which they’re going to have to be judged on.”

“The Adelaide Oval and what it’s provided for Port Adelaide and the Crows provides a good example of how a structural inequity can be fixed by lifting the revenues of clubs.

“It’s why smaller clubs in Victoria like mine are seeking the Good Friday fixture because it gives us more attendances and gives us a chance to build our base.”

After Sydney’s multi-million dollar forward line led the way in a 110-point win over Geelong on Thursday night, Gordon suggested it served as a reminder that some clubs were bigger than others.

“You might have mixed feelings about how they got that forward line but got it they have and it’s pretty formidable,” he said.

“It was a fairly scary couple of hours.”

Gordon, whose club ranks lowly in the AFL’s revenue ladder, also called the Gold Coast “a formidable and growing juggernaut” after seeing his side blown away by the Suns last weekend.