AFL legend Leigh Matthews has called for strugglers Melbourne and Richmond to be protected from recruiting raids from the AFL's expansion clubs.

The Demons and Tigers occupied the last two spots on the ladder in 2009 and were well beaten in round one of this season, which generated concerns among their supporters they could be in for more hard times in 2010.

Matthews said this was the wrong time for clubs with limited talent pools to struggle given the reward at the end of the season via the national draft had been reduced.

The Gold Coast will be granted heavy concessions in this year's draft before they enter the competition next year, while the Greater Western Sydney team will get concessions next year ahead of their 2012 entry.

The Gold Coast will get the first three picks in this year's national draft and pick No.5, which means the 2010 wooden spooner will get pick No.4 and second-last will get pick No.6.

The new teams will also have access to an uncontracted player from each of the 16 teams to assist them to develop playing lists.

But Matthews, a former Hawthorn playing great and a four-time premiership coach, said Richmond and Melbourne should be granted protection given their current plight.

"It would be diabolical and unfair if Melbourne and Richmond in their current situations were further weakened by losing a player or two to the new expansion clubs," Matthews wrote in a column on the AFL's website.

"They are already starting behind scratch and can't afford the body blow of having one of their few good players pinched through the free agency granted to establish and build competitive 17th and 18th teams.

"That may be critically important for the big-picture growth of the national competition but any team that wins five games or less cannot be further weakened to strengthen the expansion clubs.

"It seems very reasonable to me that clubs in this category should somehow have their players declared off-limits to the northern raiders."

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