AAP


Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett believes Melbourne deserve a penalty severe enough to send them into the AFL wilderness for the next decade if tanking claims are proven.


And he says the Demons board should resign even if they claim to have no knowledge of the club's alleged tanking in 2009.


While the AFL investigation is still ongoing, Kennett said he had seen and heard enough to believe the Demons were guilty.


And he took a starkly different view to others such as former Melbourne president Paul Gardner and former Carlton president Ian Collins, who have suggested that if tanking occurred individuals should be punished rather than the club.


Kennett said that would not be satisfactory as if individuals were punished, a club could keep changing its office-holders and never suffer the consequences of its actions.


He said it would be sad to see a club with Melbourne's tradition sent further into the doldrums by heavy sanctions, but the AFL had no realistic alternative if the Demons were guilty of deliberately losing matches for draft picks.


He said severe penalties should also be applied to Adelaide if they were found guilty of draft-tampering in their dealings with Kurt Tippett.


"The AFL, if both these clubs' cases are proved to be correct, are going to have to sanction the clubs severely," Kennett told Melbourne's 3AW radio on Thursday.


"For all those Melbourne supporters out there, it is probably going to condemn Melbourne to the back blocks of the AFL for perhaps another decade and that is a tragedy given the brand that Melbourne is.


"I think the board, if (the allegations) are proved to be correct, will have to resign, they should resign.


"They will argue they knew nothing about it but the buck stops with them."


The Demons returned to pre-season training this week and star forward Mitch Clark said the off-field dramas were not affecting the players.


"We're here for the pre-season and that stuff will take care of itself," Clark said.