‘Nice to be proven wrong’: Mathieson pleased by Blues’ progress but wants flag within three years
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Carlton powerbroker Bruce Mathieson says the Blues have finally ended a lost decade and years of “bad management”, but has declared a premiership must be won within three seasons to capitalise on the current strong list.
Mathieson, the billionaire pokies king who has wielded tremendous power at Princes Park through the decades as a board member and later as a benefactor, remains unapologetic about his mid-season spray, reported by News Corp. He baked club president Luke Sayers, chief executive Brian Cook and what he labelled a “weak board” as the Blues endured a six-game losing streak and fell to 15th on the ladder.
Bruce Mathieson is unrepentant about the spray he gave Carlton powerbrokers earlier this season.Credit: Arsineh Houspian
However, the club largely remained resolute, with Cook and Sayers backing under-siege coach Michael Voss to fulfil his three-year contract, expiring after the 2024 season. The Blues then went on a nine-game winning run to lock in their first finals berth since 2013.
Mathieson said he is happy to have been proven wrong, but has no regrets about speaking his mind.
“Put it this way, there is no doubt we weren’t going anywhere. There needed to be some hard decisions made. That’s always easier sitting on the other side of the fence. Injuries, this, that. Because of emotion, you say it as you see it at the time,” Mathieson said.
“The way we were going, I am sure we weren’t going to make the eight, which I thought would be devastating for the club if we didn’t make it. We have made it, so I’ll be the first to say: ‘Well done’. It’s nice to be proven wrong sometimes, too.”
Carlton coach Michael Voss was under fire earlier this season, but a mid-year rethink has worked a treat.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
A mid-season tactical rethink by Voss, introducing a more direct style of play, and direct conversations with team leaders, including captain Patrick Cripps and his deputy Jacob Weitering, sparked the Blues.
While Mathieson does not expect a premiership this year, he said the Blues, preparing to face Sydney in an elimination final, needed to deliver within the next three years.
“With the game they are playing, with all of these players, don’t forget how old they will be by that point (in three years), you get that bit slower, caught a bit more often,” he said.
“It’s great to see they have made it. Hopefully, they get a bit more of a go, and it’s going to be a great year to build from. Going forward, we should start to do really well.
“It always seems like an eternity when you are a supporter and not getting anywhere. It’s very frustrating, and you get emotionally tied up in it, don’t you? That’s just being human.
“It’s wonderful to start to get some scores on the board.”
Amid the six-game losing skid, emotions spilled over after the loss to the Swans in Sydney when Mathieson’s nephew Craig Mathieson, a long-time board member to that point, expressed his frustration post match over the direction the club was taking. He stepped down the next morning.
Bruce Mathieson did not wish to comment on that specific case.
“I am happy with everyone. I think there are still some problems in the club that need to be addressed, but there are problems in everything,” he said.
Through an often tumultuous past decade, senior coaches Mick Malthouse, Brendon Bolton and David Teague have all been sacked, while there has been a revolving door of club chief executives. There was also a power play between former CEO Cain Liddle and Steve Silvagni, the club great and then list manager.
“They were completely lost years. They were years that just came down to one thing; bad management. We were lost,” Mathieson, living in Queensland, said.
“There are only two hard calls in any language, yes or no. They are the hardest words in the world to say when you are dealing with emotions.
“That’s one of the problems with a club. Sometimes you have just got to say you are not going in the right direction. People give their heart and soul, then you say, ‘we are virtually not going anywhere, we have to change these things’.”
Mathieson’s Endeavour Group leases and manages three of the four gaming venues the Blues have, a deal originally struck in 2010.
The Blues confirmed in their 2022 annual report that they made more than $20 million from their four hospitality venues last year, which includes 300 gaming machines.
When asked if the Blues needed to wean themselves off poker machine revenue, as other AFL clubs have done, Mathieson did not wish to comment.
The Blues have flagged their intent to steer away from poker machines, including generating revenue through the Carlton College of Sport, but they remain the club’s biggest source of income.
Mathieson was a key off-field figure and remembers fondly the1995 premiership, the Blues’ most recent. He is full of praise for captain Patrick Cripps, and hopes he can deliver the club’s 17th flag.
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