Josh Frydenberg, Anthony Koutoufides and the contenders to replace Luke Sayers as Carlton president

Billionaire powerbroker Bruce Mathieson has called for change at Carlton. So, who takes over from Luke Sayers? And what happens next? Here’s the inside word.

Billionaire Carlton powerbroker Bruce Mathieson has urged the Blues to go outside “the old regime” in choosing their next president.

Mathieson, a former club director, said he did not believe anyone from the current board was suitable for the job.

“In my opinion there should be a complete new start – I don’t know if there is much on the inside anyway,” Mathieson said.

“We need a fresh face at Carlton from outside the boys’ club. You don’t want anyone who is tied up in the old regime.”

The Blues presidency was vacated on Wednesday after business bigwig Luke Sayers was forced out amid fallout from a “dick pic” sent from his social media account on January 8.

Mathieson identified senior ANZ banker Mark Whelan, ex-federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg and radio broadcaster Tom Elliott as standout candidates.

But Frydenberg and Elliott said they would not be contenders.

“I love the Blues and the team is on the right track, but this is not the right time for me, and so I won’t be a contender for the role,” Frydenberg said.

“But like all Carlton fans, I’ll be cheering from the sidelines hoping for more on-field success.”

Former Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at Ikon Park in 2019.

Mathieson said a return to former president Mark LoGiudice was another left-field option, adding that he was “delighted” that Sayers had “got the flick”.

LoGiudice served for 12 years on the Blues board from 2009-21, including eight as president.

Of Whelan, Mathieson said: “He’s a very, very successful businessman, loves Carlton and would not be frightened to make hard decisions”.

Elliott – the son of late Carlton president John Elliott – endorsed Mathieson’s view that the club needed to look outside the current board.

Current directors Robert Priestley and Patty Kinnersly will share the presidency until the board appoints a permanent successor.

“I think someone from outside needs to take over as president of the Carlton Football Club,” Elliott told 3AW.

“Now my name is often put forward and it is put forward because my father was president of Carlton for 20 years. I don’t really want to do it – I’ll say that now. It is like a full-time unpaid job and I am very busy doing what I do.

“People always say to me, ‘Oh, but Eddie McGuire was president of Collingwood and he did radio’. I’ll be honest – hats off to Ed – I don’t know how he managed to do all the things he did at the same time.

“So it’s not going to be me … but there are some very well-credentialed, high-profile Carlton supporters who I think need to step up – the first is former treasurer Josh Frydenberg. He loves Carlton, he’s no longer a politician – yes he has a job in the financial markets – but he would be an ideal person to take over as president of the Carlton Football Club.”

Elliott said another option was former AFL Commission chairman and Blues premiership ruckman Mike Fitzpatrick.

“Mike is an incredibly well-credentialed person, he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he’s made a lot of money investing in infrastructure, he was a champion player of the game … he knows how to knock heads together and has enormous respect at the club,” he said.

“The third, and this is one from left field, is Anthony Koutoufides.

“Now Kouta, late last year, said he wanted to be Lord Mayor of Melbourne and he ran a pretty good campaign but didn’t get elected.

“Clearly, Kouta has the time and inclination and hopefully the financial backing to do something else, and like Mike Fitzpatrick, he was a fabulous player at the club, in fact one of the greatest footballers to pull on a jumper.

“We need change at the top of the Carlton Football Club.”

It emerged on Thursday that Sayers’ orchestrated exit from Carlton was conducted by Melbourne’s so-called “Mr Fix-it” – high-profile lawyer Leon Zwier.

Zwier is a renowned problem-solver for Melbourne’s top end of town and has been a central player in past AFL scandals, including the Hawthorn racism saga.

Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has Zwier on speed dial, sending him to London to navigate the state’s massive compensation payment from the disastrous cancelling of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Zwier is also acting for Andrews in the long-running bike boy scandal surrounding a 2013 car crash with a teenage cyclist at Blairgowrie.

Sayers was cleared of breaching any AFL rules on Wednesday after a league integrity unit probe found his social account had been “compromised”.

But Elliott said there were still “too many unanswered questions” surrounding the saga.

“The AFL and the club need to give us more detail … we need to know more about this,” he said.

“You can’t have a respect for women program and then cover up an issue like this …

“Someone very close to him or in the immediate vicinity must have sent it.”

Blues life member and former Carltonian president Vince Loccisano said the Sayers “situation” highlighted “the biggest threat to Carlton achieving the ultimate success”.

“What’s happened is another example of continued chaotic leadership at a time when we need stability and a healthy culture at the club,” Loccisano said.

“With a senior list that shows a clear premiership window I think the club’s leadership at board level is the weakest link.

“Why did the board recommend to the Carlton members to extend Luke Sayers for another 12 months this time last year in the middle of the PwC scandal?

“More than half of the board has been appointed by Luke Sayers.”

Originally published as Josh Frydenberg, Anthony Koutoufides and the contenders to replace Luke Sayers as Carlton president