Carlton president declares Michael Voss safe for remainder of 2025, but won't guarantee next season

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13 hours ago

Carlton president Rob Priestley won't guarantee Michael Voss will see out his contract, declaring the AFL club will make a "calm and rational" decision on the coach's future over the next two months.
Voss, who is contracted for 2026, has been under an intense blowtorch as the Blues (6-9) have all but fallen out of finals contention this season.
Incoming CEO Graham Wright will have a significant say over the 49-year-old's position, with his official takeover from current boss Brian Cook brought forward to August 15.
"Vossy is contracted until the end of 26 — that doesn't change," Priestley told reporters after Carlton's training session on Monday.
"I think what we're trying to do here is really focus on the next eight weeks (and) get ourselves into the very best possible position addressing things we need to address.
"Then that gets us into the end of the season where we can — in a really calm and measured way — make decisions if we need to make them then.
Carlton has faced growing discontent from a passionate and frustrated supporter base, which has been starved of success since the club's most recent premiership in 1995.
Fans had entered this season full of hope that the flag drought might be about to end, following consecutive finals appearances in Voss's second and third seasons at the helm.
But a 50-point loss to Port Adelaide last round brought tension to a head, with Carlton's Princes Park headquarters sprayed with graffiti calling for the club's board and key figures Brad Lloyd and Nick Austin to be sacked.
The graffiti message showed support for Voss and also demanded a decision from ruck star Tom De Koning, who is weighing up his playing future amid a huge offer from St Kilda.
"There's no doubt all Carlton people are disappointed in where we're up to," Priestley said.
"The season hasn't panned out, so far, as we would like. There's no doubt about that and we can't shy away from that.
"But the really important thing is we're focused on the next eight weeks and provide all the right support to our footy department — to our playing group, to our coaching group — to really maximise what we can get out of the next eight weeks moving into the off-season."
Former Collingwood and Hawthorn administrator Wright has already attended meetings at Carlton and will take over from Cook before the end of the home-and-away season.
A decision on the Blues' coaching position will be high on Wright's agenda.
"We brought Graham in as a football CEO, and that's what we wanted," Priestley said.
"We really want to utilise his expertise, his skills, his experience, to work with our footy department at the moment, and really support them through the coming weeks.
"We just wanted to make sure we had that time in August 15 to be able to do that. That's the main reasoning for the timing there."
Priestley said De Koning's future will be decided "at the right point in time" as the Saints attempt to lure the 25-year-old gun away.
"We've got the right people focused on that," he said.
"He loves the club, we love him, so we definitely want him to stay.
"But we can't rush that. We've just got to let that play out."
AAP