The inside story of Carlton's failed bid for Ross Lyon, and why St Kilda couldn't be happier
Luke Sayers' calculated journey back into public life since the January lewd photograph scandal that ended his Carlton presidency has been hesitant, but he made his biggest statement yet late last month when he threw a private lunch at South Yarra's Parisian bistro France-Soir.
Sayers booked out the almost four-decades-old restaurant and hosted friends from politics, business, media and sport. Some who attended framed it as an unofficial acknowledgement of thanks to those who had supported him over his public humiliation.
His sporting guests included former AFL boss-turned-Tabcorp chief Gillon McLachlan and the Carlton chief executive he lured to the club in late 2021, Brian Cook. And the St Kilda president, with whom Sayers has been involved in business, Andrew Bassat.
The guest list was mostly men although the former ALP media guru-turned corporate advisor Sharon McCrohan attended. Sayers hired McCrohan, who played a pivotal role in former premier Steve Bracks' electoral victories, in 2023 during the PwC tax scandal and she has been his media advisor during these past turbulent months.
Bassat and Sayers share strong friendships and business connections with the Fox family but the cross-pollination between St Kilda and Carlton dates back years and involves some of the game's biggest names including Alex Jesaulenko and more recently Stephen Silvagni, who returned to the Saints in 2023 as their list boss after a bitter falling out with the Blues.
Aside from Jesaulenko, Carlton premiership players Ken Sheldon and more recently former skipper Brett Ratten have also coached St Kilda.
But the connection that Sayers was not prepared to discuss publicly with this masthead ahead of Friday night's clash between the two clubs was Ross Lyon, and the circumstances that led to Lyon returning to the Saints one year after being virtually assured of the Carlton coaching job. Sayers did not return calls from this masthead, and Bassat said he had no deep knowledge of what occurred at Carlton.
He added that he is deeply grateful that Lyon ultimately returned to St Kilda.
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7 hours ago
- News.com.au
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