A band of passionate Blues members has successfully halted plans harboured by Carlton's board to alter the club's constitution.
According to reports from The Herald Sun, the Navy Blue's hierarchy had previously sought to update the umbrella document in what has been described as a "power grab" by membership group 'Carlton Now'.
The board had reportedly held hopes of updating the minimum term for club presidency from three to four years.
Further proposals included the ability to allow for non-members to fill interim roles and to decrease the likelihood of Emergency General Meetings being both proposed and held.
Each of these motions were initially raised in August 2021 prior to the Blues' most recent Annual General Meeting.
However, in what has been hailed as a win for the club's voting rank and file, all three of these overtures are said to be scrapped ahead of Carlton's 2022 AGM to be held on February 22.
This victory for 'Carlton Now' members comes in the wake of their unsuccessful efforts to oust the board via an EGM following the club's 8-14 campaign last season.
Speaking to The Herald Sun, group spokesman Vince Loccisano stated emphatically that the current board's choice to yield to public pressure was a "big win".
“In the end common sense has prevailed and to give Luke Sayers some credit, he’s pretty promptly backed down from what they originally tried to sneak through,” Loccisano said.
“It’s a really big win for the members that the new constitution changes have come out without these power grab clauses. So we’re more than prepared to endorse it now and say we support everything else with these constitution changes now.”
Although these options for greater board-level security at Princes Park have been scuppered, more progressive motions such as acknowledging and respecting First Nation people and the club's diverse group of AFLW players have been kept on.
Carlton's off-field battle for greater power against potentially aggrieved members comes less than two-months after their arch-rivals Collingwood went through similar processes before announcing Jeff Browne as club president.
