The AFL has pledged to do more to be community leaders and show extra respect to women.

Chief executive Andrew Demetriou has alluded to the off-field scandals over summer that have damaged the game's image in his speech at the league's official season launch.

On the same day as the Thursday night launch in Melbourne, the AFL Players' Association was deliberating over the future of player agent Ricky Nixon.

He has been under investigation over his self-confessed inappropriate dealings with teenager Kim Duthie and could lose his agent accreditation.

Demetriou fiercely defended the behaviour of most AFL players in his speech at the launch, but admitted the league had to do more to uphold its values.

The Nixon saga came after Duthie had sparked the St Kilda nude photo scandal late last year.

Brisbane also sacked two-time Coleman Medallist Brendan Fevola for off-field misbehaviour, while the Saints suspended four players for breaking team rules during a New Zealand training camp.

"A game as big as ours can't shirk its responsibility to be a leader in the community," Demetriou said.

"We must remain true to our values, to be accountable, progressive and respectful, especially when it comes to women who are such an integral part of our game.

"As far as we've come, we know we still have some way to go, but as difficult as it sometimes may be, I want to assure everyone that we're in it for the long haul.

"I, for one, am extremely proud of the vast majority of our players - not just for what they do on the field but also off it."

Demetriou said this year would be one of the most important in the league's history, with Gold Coast becoming their 17th team and the negotiation of a new broadcast rights deal.

Once the rights deal is finalised, the league will also reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the players and set out a blueprint for the next five years.

"Never before has our agenda been so comprehensive. Never before has it been so bold. Never before has it been so important to the future of the game," he said.

Demetriou added the league would continue to work closely with clubs and improve the quality of the competition.

"In 2011 we will set the bar higher than ever before to ensure we continue to have the best athletes in the country, playing in the best venues, and delivering the very best spectacle," he said.

"We will leave no stone unturned to take our game to a new level, to make our game even greater."

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