By Jake Niall
Newly appointed Carlton president Rob Priestley says the Blues will aim to contend for the premiership every year and again become a leader of the AFL industry.
Priestley, who took over the presidency on Friday after winning the board’s support to replace departed president and former PwC boss Luke Sayers, said the club was excited about its prospects in season 2025, but that the goal was building a club that “stands the test of time.”
Rob Priestley is the new president of Carlton Football Club.Credit: Carlton FC
“You know, we want to contend every year,” Priestley told this masthead. “So we’re really excited about this year, but we don’t want to be one-hit wonders. We want to build something that’s consistent and sustainable and stands the test of time.”
He added: “We want to do everything we can to make sure we’re consistently contending, year in year out, not just in ’25 ... something that’s sustainable and consistent and sort of gets Carlton to be an industry leader in the AFL, if you like, on a consistent basis.”
Priestley, chairman of financial services firm JP Morgan Australia and New Zealand, is based in Sydney but said he now planned to base himself primarily in Melbourne – he has bases in both cities – to fulfil his role as Carlton president.
His co-vice president Patty Kinnersly chose not to contest the position, and will remain as vice president.
“In the end, I was the only nomination, yes,” Priestley said of the presidency, which is chosen by the club’s board.
Priestley and Kinnersly have been sharing the chair’s duties in an acting capacity since Sayers quit the role last month. His resignation came after he’d been embroiled in a controversy early in the new year over a lewd image that was posted from one of his social media accounts.
Although an AFL inquiry found Sayers’ X account was compromised, and he was not responsible for posting the image, he resigned as club president within a fortnight.
Priestley, who was viewed as a prospective successor to Sayers as soon as he joined the board at the end of 2021, said the situation that Sayers faced was difficult for all involved. Sayers has been in Italy with family.
“I’ve been in touch with Luke ... I didn’t really know him before I was approached by the independent nominations committee to join the board. So I worked with him closely over the last three years, and just been really impressed in terms of the contribution he’s made to this footy club.
“So yeah I feel for him very much. On the board for 12 years, president for three and his dedication and passion, and importantly the energy he brought to the role. He was energetic in that role in terms of making sure we ... needed to be doing everything we should be. So it’s been a really difficult situation for everybody.
Rob Priestley at Carlton headquarters.,Credit: Carlton FC
“So I think we’ve hopefully got to a situation now that we can just respect the privacy of those involved because it was a pretty difficult time for everybody.”
Priestley was involved in last year’s appointment of Graham Wright as the club’s next CEO; a role he will assume later this year when Brian Cook departs.
The new president addressed staff and the players on Friday, telling them he would be a collaborative leader. Carlton insiders predicted he would be less flamboyant than the extroverted Sayers.
“I addressed all the staff and players here earlier, and one of the things I said is ‘this isn’t about me, this is about all of us and how we come together, deliver in a collective sense our over-arching goals and objectives’. I would style myself sort of as a far more collaborative leader where I want to hear different people’s opinions and get full buy-in across the organisation.”
Priestley, who grew up in Brighton and played football for Old Brighton with his two brothers, described himself as “not somebody necessarily seeking profile, [but] wanting profile for the club and our achievements and what we’re trying to do as a collective.”
Asked whether the Blues had relied too much on skipper Patrick Cripps, Priestley praised Cripps – “an amazing leader for us – but said the Blues were developing a “deep bench” and that the list management team had performed well.
“I think they’ve done a really good job over the last couple of years. We’re getting really deep right across the club and right across the playing group.”
Priestley said he would “flip” his residency to mainly Melbourne to be president. “I’m still chairman of JP Morgan, I will have to go back to Sydney on certain days and weeks, but I would look to flip that so as president of the Carlton footy club I’m down here in Melbourne.”
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