FOR Luke Sayers, who started his Navy Blue journey as a young boy in Rochester who would head to Princes Park with his godfather, he looks back on his first full season as Carlton President with pride.

He goes into his second knowing a solid foundation is set, but no shortage of work still to be done.

Throughout his life, Sayers has worn many hats. For those who grew up with a similar affinity for the old dark Navy Blues, they’ll know Sayers as the President of their football club. 

When it comes to his support of Carlton, it lies somewhere between family and fate.

“I was born in Rochester in northern Victoria… it was very much that family and community life, in a small town of 2,500 people up there on the Campaspe,” Sayers said on the Summer Sessions podcast.

“Growing up in Rochester, I used to come to [Carlton] and stay with my godfather just out the back. My father was a Swans supporter, but because I’d come here every three or four weeks to see a speech therapist, my godfather brought me to the games.

However, there are many who don’t know Sayers solely through his standing at Carlton. He’s a husband, a father of four daughters, an owner of “a female dog and a couple of chooks”, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Sayers, the Chair of e.motion21 and a Member of the Order of Australia (to name just a few).

In Sayers’ mind, the most endearing aspect of being part of any football club - but particularly the one he’s so heavily involved in - is its capacity to bring people together from all walks of life.

“The magic of this organisation and this club is you’re blending such diversity together, helping so much in the community as well as winning on the ground,” he said.

“There’s still the intellectual challenge at a footy club as there is in a business… [but] your tentacles are so far and wide in terms of the members you have, the corporate sponsors, your past players — the stakeholder group is much more diverse.

“There are very few organisations which have the ability to do the community and social side of the equation, as well as the high performance in terms of winning games.

“Where we are at the moment as an organisation and as a club, I’m really proud.”

That was the word - “proud” - which Sayers kept coming back to as he reflected on the 2022 campaign, which could only be described as an emotional rollercoaster at IKON Park.

Make no mistake, there was joy. There were moments like Sam Docherty’s Round 1 return, Patrick Cripps’ Brownlow, Mimi Hill’s Rising Star and Charlie Curnow’s comeback Coleman which all stood out throughout the year.

There was also the final-round anguish.

But all in all, the capacity for Carlton people to embrace a foundational year was something which stood out for Sayers more than anything else.

“How everyone started to build Carlton 2.0, to see that change and to feel that change — I’m super proud.

“How quickly everyone got to work, after a difficult time 12 months ago… how quickly ‘Cooky’, his leadership team, all the departments and in particular the Football department, in terms of coaches coming together, players coming together, a whole new game plan, new standards and culture and beliefs.

“I sit here and know that the foundational elements that you need in great organisations and great cultures, they’re built and rock solid. Now we go to work in layering the extra one percenters that we need to be the absolute best we can be.

“We’ve learnt, we’ve grown and we’re ready to go again.”

So, if he can take out his crystal ball, what are the differences in 2023 compared to 2022?

It’s all about the “next evolution”.

“It is about continuing to lift the cohesiveness, the connectedness, the relationships and the trust on and off the field,” he said.

“The players have come back fit, they’ve come back motivated… they’re back, they’re into it, they’re up and about and they’re pushing themselves hard.

“The coaching group has come back and is focused on layering different parts of the puzzle. You can imagine 12 months ago: nobody knew anybody and they all came together, unsure on a whole slew of things.

“We’ve got those foundational things, so now it’s about continuing to evolve.”

If there’s one thing that Sayers does want to make sure of, it’s avoiding a “boom-bust” scenario while continuing to ignite the positivity, support and passion which has been on full display from the Carlton faithful.

“In life, you can pull this lever or pull that lever and get a sugar hit — we’re not building here for a sugar hit,” he saiid.

“It’s layering, it’s evolving, it’s continuing to build the culture into the absolute fabric of what it means to be a Carlton person.

“I travel far and wide and Carlton people are well and truly everywhere. I love it, our playing group loves it, our organisation loves it."