Peter Gordon has already saved the Western Bulldogs from one financial crisis and hopes to do it again as AFL clubs prepare to make significant cuts to survive the COVID-19 break.
The club president helped the Bulldogs through 1989, where they nearly merged with Fitzroy, but says this crisis is a different challenge altogether.
"That was a terrible time, but nothing compared to this," Gordon told SEN’s Whateley.
"What united us in those events, troubling events we've survived in our past, is we worked out way through it by working together and we'll do that here."
Gordon is hoping the club can get through this period without sacking staff in order to keep the club afloat.
"I hope there won't be layoffs," Gordon said.
"There are a whole range of issues or options that are on the table. There are questions of taking leave, questions of shortened hours, there are questions of the possibility of just standing the people (down) who literally won't have anything to do for the next few months.
"We want to work those things through. Our guiding principle is trying to work out if we can put the industry on pause for two months and manage the cash flow problem, which is significant here.”