Carlton is believed to have backed in coach Brendon Bolton till the end of 2020 despite the Blues keeping him on a standard employment agreement that could theoretically see him let go at any moment with minimal fuss and pay out.
While Bolton’s terms of employment are similar to most in the working world, they differ greatly from his AFL peers who all have, in principal at least, the security of long-term contracts.
Bolton’s ‘extension’ has been hinted at by Carlton champion and current director Chris Judd this week, just days after the Blues lost by 109 points to Melbourne and sit on the bottom of the ladder after starting the season 0-7 for the first time in the club’s 122-year VFL/AFL history.
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“I think he has been backed in. It's a long-term contract,'' Judd told Channel Nine’s Footy Classified this week.
''The club sees him as a long-term coach. He sees it as a long-term contract. Clearly, he wouldn't have made the decisions he has made if he didn't see it as a long-term contract. He wouldn't have traded out Bryce Gibbs and been a party to that if he felt he was a short-term coach.
"He does have the comfort of next year - he is the coach for next year.”
However, despite Judd’s assurances Bolton was safe, Carlton president Mark LoGiudice would not confirm that the coach had received any sort of extension or a secure period in the position.
“Brendon’s employment agreement is ongoing. It does not expire and we are both very happy with that,” LoGiudice said.
“He still has an employment agreement and I am not going to discuss the terms and conditions of that agreement.”
Injuries have added to the Blues’woes so far in 2018 and Judd says the club is prepared to suffer in the short term as Bolton rebuilds the list.
"Without being really repetitive - I think we have been through the age demographics of the list ad nauseam - the amount of player turnover we have had," Judd said.
''There were seven players playing in their third year or less on the weekend."
Carlton, and Bolton in particular, make a regular habit of pointing out the youth on the Blues’ list and the high turnover of playing personnel in recent seasons.
However, the team that was thrashed by Melbourne had a higher average age and more games experience than the Demons, as was the case when Carlton lost to the Western Bulldogs in round six and Gold Coast in round two.