BRISBANE and the Suns will push extra funding to bring their football department budgets in line with the rest of the competition as the carve-up of the richest media deal in Australian sports history begins.

The AFL’s landmark $2.508 billion broadcast deal has been hailed as a major win for the game here in the Sunshine State by Queensland’s footy bosses.

The Lions and Suns also say the increased publicity for the game that will be generated by News Corp’s increased investment in the AFL will also greatly help them with their battle for market share against the NRL’s Broncos and Titans.

And AFLQ CEO Mick Conlan also hailed the new deal as another significant boost for the game’s growth in Queensland.

Players and clubs will once again be at loggerheads over the distribution of the code’s newfound riches but the expansion clubs insist this time round they need a bigger share.

Lions CEO Greg Swann and the Suns’ Andrew Travis intend to lobby for increases to their football department budgets.

The Lions and Suns are the two lowest spenders in the AFL competition. Both spend about $7.3m while ladder leaders Fremantle invest about $12m.

“The clubs certainly need to be accommodated first. Last time round, we got the leftovers,’’ Swann said.

“At the end of six years, we all need to be in position that we are not reliant on the AFL.

“In our case the training an administration base, debt reduction and an increase in footy spend are the areas we really need help with.’’

Swann has a meeting scheduled with premier Annastacia Palaszczuk this month where negotiations over the Government’s contribution to the new Lions’ den will begin in earnest.

The QE2 stadium and a site at the airport are the two remaining options and there is already an existing AFL commitment for $5m towards the project.

“We think we are ok, but if we came up a bit short we would hope there would be that capacity there for them to help us further,’’ Swann said.

The Suns have worn criticism from Melbourne commentators this season that have suggested the AFL’s investment in the club was a waste of money. Travis said the new deal showed how critical his club was to the whole competition.

“This outcome is great of our game, but also highlights the benefits the whole game now shares on the back of the AFL’s investment in the expansion markets, especially here in Queensland,’’ he said.

“There is no doubt how important the NSW and Queensland markets are for the growth and success of our code.’’