AFL clubs have expressed "real disappointment" and "anger" towards members of the league commission after North Melbourne was provided with a two-year assistance package.
Following an AFL Commission meeting on Monday, it was revealed the Kangaroos will receive draft assistance to help turn around the club's poor on-field showing.
Under the assistance package, the club will receive an additional end-of-first-round selection at this year's national draft, as well as two end-of-first-round draft selections and two extra rookie list spots in 2024.
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While the package is intended to be distributed over two years, the AFL said it could review the assistance picks for 2024 should the club "materially increase" its achievements next season.
The clause is thought to be in place to encourage the Kangaroos to trade the first-round draft picks this off-season.
Speaking on Nine's Footy Classified, leading AFL journalist Caroline Wilson claimed some opposition clubs were unhappy with the helping hand being extended to the Kangaroos.
"The way the AFL handled this was deplorable," Wilson said on Tuesday.
"They put this out an hour or two before the Brownlow count started, they released it to the presidents and CEOs then. The presidents, I don't think, really understood exactly what was going on.
"The competition committee has been completely left out of this argument, [so] why even have it?
"Phone calls to AFL headquarters [on Tuesday] have been ongoing.
"We've heard from two coaches, there are at least another five that I saw at the Brownlow who were white with fury."
Geelong coach Chris Scott has publicly slammed the decision, labelling it a "blatant manipulation" of the draft, while St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has also been highly critical.
Wilson stated that a majority of the clubs' outrage centred on key AFL figures showing favouritism.
"There's real disappointment at [footfall manager] Laura Kane from some clubs," she said.
"I'm not suggesting this, but Laura of course was at North Melbourne when the initial assistance package request went in, back in 2021.
"There's anger at [incoming CEO] Andrew Dillion and anger at Gillon McLachlan who's done, this is his last move [as outgoing CEO], some believe, to help [Kangaroos coach] Alastair Clarkson."
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Wilson admitted that Clarkson had endured a difficult year in his first season at the helm of North Melbourne but scolded the club for squandering chances and making repeat mistakes.
Asked what she would have provided to North Melbourne following several tough years, Wilson believed three first-round draft picks was too generous.
"I have enormous sympathy and I really admire what all the leaders at North Melbourne have been trying to do," she said.
"But to do this without any consultation with the clubs and to just completely ride roughshod over the rest of them, I think it's way too much."
The assistance package will see North Melbourne tally nine first-round draft picks in the last three years.
The club holds three first-round selections including picks two, 14 and 19 in this year's draft and three 2024 first-round selections ahead of the trade period.
The Kangaroos could also receive pick three as free agency compensation for defender Ben McKay, who informed the club of his intentions to explore free agency opportunities last Friday.
Kane Cornes described the club's request for such assistance as "embarrassing" as it "refuses to rebuild".
"I'd be a little bit embarrassed if I was North asking for that," he said.
"It's embarrassing when you watch it back. They know deep down."
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