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As the curtain comes down on a watershed season for the Carlton Football Club, the board of directors, administration, players, members and supporters will doubtlessly reflect with pride on what was achieved under the leadership of their dynamic leader, Richard Pratt.
They are all indebted to Pratt because it was he – amid the darkest hour in Carlton’s otherwise glorious history – who gave them their beloved club back.
Not surprisingly, they are united in their push for Pratt to stay on as President, on the cusp of what will hopefully be a new and exciting era for the only team old Carlton knows.
When Pratt answered the call in February, he inherited an organisation that was bereft of funds, lacking in leadership and a mere shell of the spectacularly-successful establishment that it once was.
In the ten short months of Pratt’s watch, Carlton has:
• landed the NAB Cup Pre-Season Premiership victory, generating
$200,000 in revenue;
• appointed Greg Swann as CEO;
• posted a record membership of 35,431, representing an increase of
7000 on the previous year;
• achieved merchandise gross sales in excess of $1.1million;
• increased home game attendances from 33,000 to 41,000;
• recorded a $2.94million annual profit, representing a turnaround of
almost $6million and the first profit for the Carlton FC Group since
2003;
• appointed Brett Ratten as Senior Coach;
• recruited Chris Judd and Matthew Kreuzer;
• acquired Hyundai as joint major sponsor, and
• entered into a partnership with Visy to make Carlton the AFL’s
greenest club
Though he personally pledged $2million of his own to complete the rescue package, Pratt made it publicly known to the Navy Blue faithful that they, like him, needed to rally to the club’s cause.
To a man, woman and child they rallied to their President as he methodically activated the Carlton rescue plan, because they could all see that he offered them hope.
While Pratt’s return to Carlton in 2007 was much-heralded, truth is he never really left. For more than fifty years Pratt has unswervingly supported the team for which he once played.
In fact, few realise that Pratt is the only current AFL club president to have actually played for his club.
When Pratt recently paid tribute to the late George Harris he publicly declared: “In the pantheon of Carlton’s long and successful history, few men - whether director, player, member or supporter - can truly say that they gave more to Carlton than him”.
Richard Pratt is one of those few.
That is why the tens of thousands of zealous devotees who form the Carlton family both nationally and internationally, say to him - “Well done, thankyou and keep up the good work”.
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