Carlton Football Club

Carlton Football Club
Names
Full name	Carlton Football Club
Nickname(s)	Blues, The Baggers
Motto	Mens sana in corpore sano (A sound mind in a healthy body)
2016 season
Home-and-away season	14th
Leading goalkicker	Matthew Wright
Best and fairest	Sam Docherty
Club details
Founded	1864 (1864)
Colours	Navy Blue      White
Competition	Australian Football League AFL Women's (from 2017)
Chairman	Mark Lo Giudice
CEO	Steven Trigg
Coach	Brendon Bolton
Captain(s)	Marc Murphy
Premierships	VFL/AFL (16): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995 VFA (2): 1877, 1887 Pre-VFA (4): 1871, 1873, 1874, 1875
Ground(s)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (used for most home games) (capacity: 100,018)
	Docklands Stadium (capacity: 56,347)
Former ground(s)	Princes Park (1897–2005)
Training ground(s)	Princes Park (Ikon Park)
Uniforms
Home Away
Other information
Official website	carltonfc.com.au

The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Melbourne, the club competes in the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League), and was one of the competition's eight founding member clubs in 1897. Its nickname comes from the navy blue colour of its playing uniform.

The club's headquarters and training facilities are located in Carlton at Princes Park, its traditional home ground, and it currently plays its home matches at either Docklands Stadium (currently known as Etihad Stadium) or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Carlton has historically been one of the AFL's most successful clubs, having won sixteen senior VFL/AFL premierships, equal with Essendon as the most of any club; prior to this, it won six senior premierships, including two in the Victorian Football Association. The club has also fielded a team in the AFL Women's league since its establishment in 2017.

Club history

Carlton has had a long and successful history. Together with fierce rivals Collingwood, Richmond and Essendon, Carlton was considered historically to be one of the league's "Big Four" clubs, and enjoys a healthy rivalry with all three others.^[1]

Early history

The Carlton Football Club was formed in July 1864. In the early days, Carlton became particularly strong and having grown a large supporter base. It became a fierce rival to the Melbourne Football Club in early competition, including the South Yarra Challenge Cup, which it won in 1871. Carlton won four premierships during the pre-VFA era in the 1870s (1871, 1873, 1874 and 1875). In 1877, Carlton became one of the foundation clubs of the Victorian Football Association, and was a comfortable winner of the premiership in the competition's inaugural season.^[2]

Carlton was one of the first clubs to have a player worthy of the superstar tag: champion player George Coulthard, who played for Carlton between 1876 and 1882, and was noted by The Australasian as 'The grandest player of the day'. He died of tuberculosis in 1883, aged 27.

The club won one more VFA premiership, in 1887, but after that, particularly during the 1890s, the club went from one of the strongest clubs in the Association to one of the weaker, both on-field and off-field. In spite of this, the club was invited to join the breakaway Victorian Football League competition in 1897.^[3] The club continued to struggle in early seasons of the new competition, and finished seventh out of eight teams in each of its first five seasons.

Jack Worrall to World War I

Carlton's fortunes improved significantly in 1902. The Board elected the highly respected former Fitzroy footballer and Australian test cricketer Jack Worrall, then the secretary of the Carlton Cricket Club, to the same position at the football club. As secretary, Worrall slowly took over the managing of the players, in what is now recognised as the first official coaching role in the VFL. Under Worrall's guidance in the latter part of the 1902 season, Carlton's on-field performances improved,^[4] and in 1903 he led Carlton to the finals for the first time.

Carlton built a strong reputation and financial position, and was able to convince many great players to shift to the club from other clubs, or even (in the case of Mick Grace) out of retirement. Worrall led the club to its first three VFL premierships, won consecutively, in 1906, 1907 and 1908. Carlton became the first club in the VFL to win three premierships in a row, and its win-loss record of 19–1 in the 1908 season (including finals) was a record which stood for more than ninety years.^{N 1}

Following these premierships, Carlton went through a tumultuous period off-field. Some players had become frustrated by low payments and hard training standards, and responded by refusing to train or even play matches. The club removed Worrall from the coaching role (he retained the role of secretary), and after significant changes at board level after the 1909 season, Worrall left the club altogether. Many players who had supported Worrall left the club at the end of the season. Then, in 1910, several players were suspected of having taken bribes to fix matches, with two players (Alex Lang and Doug Fraser) both found guilty and suspended for 99 matches.^[2] Despite this backdrop, Carlton continued its strong on-field form, reaching the 1909 and 1910 Grand Finals, but losing both.^[4]

Carlton fell out of the finals in 1913, but returned in 1914 under coach Norm Clark, and with many inexperienced players, to win back-to-back premierships in 1914 and 1915 VFL seasons. Most football around the country was suspended during the height of World War I, but Carlton continued to compete in a VFL which featured, at its fewest, only four clubs. Altogether, between Jack Worrall's first Grand Final in 1904 and the peak of World War I in 1916, Carlton won five premierships and contested nine Grand Finals for one of the most successful times in the club's history. The only success which eluded the club was the Championship of Australia; Carlton contested the championship three times (1907, 1908 and 1914), with its South Australian opponents victorious on all three occasions.

Between the wars

Through the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s, Carlton maintained a strong on-field presence. The club was a frequent finalist, contesting fourteen finals series between the wars. However, premiership success did not follow, and the club contested only three Grand Finals for just one premiership during this period, and endured the longest premiership drought (23 years) in the club's history.^[5] The drought was broken with the club's sixth VFL premiership in 1938, when former Subiaco and South Melbourne champion Brighton Diggins was recruited by the club to serve as captain-coach.

On-field, Carlton's inter-war period was highlighted by two of its greatest goalkickers: in the 1920s, Horrie Clover (396 goals in 147 games), and in the 1930s, Harry "Soapy" Vallence (722 goals in 204 games), both of which were Carlton career records at the time.

1941–64

The VFL continued to operate through World War II. With the retirement of Diggins, Carlton secured the services of former Richmond coach Percy Bentley, who coached the club for fifteen seasons. Carlton continued to finish in or near the finals without premiership success through the war, before winning the premiership in 1945, one month after peace. In a remarkable season, Carlton languished with a record of 3–6 after nine weeks, but won ten of the remaining eleven home-and-away matches to finish fourth; Carlton then comfortably beat North Melbourne in the first semi-final, overcame a 28-point deficit in the final quarter to beat Collingwood in the preliminary final, then beat South Melbourne in the notoriously brutal and violent Bloodbath Grand Final.^[6]

Carlton contested two more Grand Finals in the 1940s, both against Essendon, winning the 1947 Grand Final by a single point, and being comfortably beaten in 1949.^[6] Thereafter followed what was Carlton's weakest on-field period since Worrall's appointment in 1902, with the club reaching the finals only four times between 1950 and 1964. Finishing tenth out of twelve and winning only five matches, 1964 was Carlton's worst VFL season to that point in its history.^[5]

Ron Barassi to 1973

A change of president at the end of 1964 heralded the most successful period in the Carlton Football Club's history. Between 1967 and 1988, Carlton missed the finals only three times, contested ten Grand Finals, and won seven premierships.^[5]

The period of success began when George Harris replaced Lew Holmes as president of the club, after the 1964 season. Harris then signed Melbourne legend Ron Barassi serve as coach from 1965. Barassi was a six-time premiership player and two-time premiership captain at Melbourne during its most successful era, and at the age of 28 was still one of the biggest names in the game. His shift to Carlton remains one of the biggest player transfers in the game's history.^[7] Also contributing to Carlton's success was the strength of the Bendigo Football League, to which Carlton gained recruitment access through the VFL's country zoning arrangements.

Under Barassi, Carlton reached three consecutive Grand Finals between 1968 and 1970, resulting in two premierships: 1968 against Essendon and 1970 against traditional rivals Collingwood. The 1970 Grand Final remains one of the most famous matches in football history. Played in front of an enduring record crowd of 121,696, Collingwood dominated early to lead by 44 points at half time, but Carlton kicked seven goals in fifteen minutes after half time to narrow the margin to only three points; after a close final quarter, Carlton won its tenth VFL premiership with a ten-point victory. Carlton won its first and second Championship of Australia titles in 1968 and 1970, beating the SANFL's Sturt Football Club in both seasons.^[7]

Carlton missed the finals in 1971, and Barassi left the club at the end of the season, but Carlton returned to prominence the following year, and contested back-to-back Grand Finals. Both matches were against Richmond, with Carlton recording a high-scoring victory in 1972, and losing a rough, physical encounter in 1973.^[7]

Of the legendary players from the Barassi era, none was more important than John Nicholls, who captained all three premierships and took over as captain-coach upon Barassi's departure. Nicholls, a ruckman and forward, had played at Carlton since 1957, and he and Graham Farmer (who played with Geelong and in the WAFL during the same era) are regarded as the greatest ruckmen in the league's history.^[8] Midfielders Sergio Silvagni and Adrian Gallagher, half-forward Robert Walls, and ruckman Percy Jones were also prominent throughout the Barassi era, and in 1970, Alex Jesaulenko became the first (and to date, only) Carlton forward to kick 100 goals in a season.

1975–82

Carlton continued to play finals through the 1970s without premiership success, and went through several coaches in a short period of time: Nicholls (until 1975), Ian Thorogood (1976–77), Ian Stewart (for only three matches in 1978), and Alex Jesaulenko as playing coach after Stewart's departure.^[7] It was not until 1979 that Carlton again reached the Grand Final, defeating Collingwood by five points in a close match best remembered for the late goal kicked by Ken Sheldon, after Wayne Harmes tapped the ball into the goalsquare from the boundary line.

After the 1979 season, there was off-field instability at the board level. Ian Rice replaced George Harris as president,^{N 2} and many of Harris' supporters left the club, including Jesaulenko, who went to St Kilda. Percy Jones replaced Jesaulenko as coach in 1980, before Hawthorn coach David Parkin was recruited in 1981, Carlton's sixth coach in eight seasons.^[7]

Despite the off-field troubles, Carlton continued to thrive on-field, and Parkin led the team to back-to-back premierships in 1981 and 1982, with victories in the Grand Finals against Collingwood and Richmond respectively. With its fourteenth premiership in 1982, Carlton overtook Collingwood to become the most successful club in the league's history, based on premierships won – a position it has held either outright or jointly with Essendon since.^[7]

Starring on-field during this period for Carlton was Bruce Doull, regarded as one of the best half-back flankers in the history of the league. Wayne Johnston was a prominent centreman/forward, and Carlton had great success recruiting high profile Western Australian footballers to the club, including Mike Fitzpatrick, Ken Hunter and Peter Bosustow.

1983–2001

In 1983, John Elliott took over the presidency from Ian Rice. On-field, the club endured three consecutive unsuccessful finals campaigns under Parkin before he was replaced by Robert Walls in 1986. Also in 1986, Carlton lured three of South Australia's top young players to the club: Stephen Kernahan, Craig Bradley and Peter Motley. The club reached the next two Grand Finals, losing in 1986 and winning in 1987, both times against Hawthorn. Kernahan went on to become the club's longest serving captain and leading career goalkicker (738 goals), and Bradley became the club games record holder (375 games); Motley's career was unfortunately cut short by a non-fatal car accident in 1987. Carlton had also recruited Stephen Silvagni (son of Sergio) in 1985, who is now recognised as one of the greatest fullbacks of all-time, and secured the league's star player Greg Williams in a trade in 1992.

David Parkin returned to coach the club from 1991 until 2000, and Carlton was a mainstay of the finals throughout most of this time. In 1995, Carlton became the first team to win twenty matches in a home-and-away season (finishing with a record of 20–2), and won the Grand Final against Geelong to claim its sixteenth premiership. Carlton reached two other Grand Finals during the 1990s, losing to Essendon in 1993 and to the Kangaroos in 1999; in 1999, Carlton had come from sixth on the home-and-away ladder to qualify for the Grand Final, famously beating its rival Essendon (the minor premiers) by one point in the preliminary final.^[7]

Period of struggle (2002-2007)

In 2002, Carlton swiftly fell from being one of the most successful clubs, both on-field and off-field, to one of the least successful. The club had been much slower than others to embrace the AFL Draft as a means for recruitment, so when its champion players from the 1990s began to retire in the early 2000s, on-field performances fell away quickly, and in 2002, the club won the wooden spoon for the first time in its VFL/AFL history; it was the last of the twelve Victorian clubs to win the wooden spoon. At the same time, the club was starting to struggle financially, due to unwise investments under John Elliott – most significantly, building a new grandstand at Princes Park during the 1990s, at a time when other clubs were finding it more profitable to play at the higher-capacity central venues.^[9] Then, at the end of 2002, it was revealed that Carlton had been systematically cheating the league salary cap during the early 2000s. The scandal resulted in the loss of draft picks and a fine of $930,000, which exacerbated the club's poor on-field and off-field positions.^[10]

In the immediate fall-out from 2002, president John Elliott was removed, and was replaced with Docklands Stadium CEO Ian Collins. Under Collins, the club shifted its home stadium from Princes Park to Docklands, with the final match played at Princes Park in 2005. Additionally, coach Wayne Brittain was sacked, and replaced with Kangaroos coach Denis Pagan. On-field performances did not improve under Pagan, and overall the club won three wooden spoons and finished in the bottom two five times between 2002–2007.^[5]

Ratten & Malthouse Era (2007-2015)

Carlton's overall position began to improve in 2007, when businessman Richard Pratt,^[11] Steven Icke^[12] and Collingwood's Greg Swann^[13] came to the club as president, general manager of football operations, and CEO respectively; although Pratt's presidency lasted only sixteen months, after which he was replaced by Stephen Kernahan,^[14] the new personnel stabilised the club's off-field position. Pagan was sacked as coach mid-season after a string of heavy defeats, and was replaced by former club captain Brett Ratten. Then, prior to the 2008 season, Carlton was able to secure a trade for West Coast's Chris Judd, one of the league's best midfielders, to join the club as captain. The time spent at the bottom of the ladder also allowed Carlton to secure three No. 1 draft picks – Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer – who helped the club's on-field position. Brett Ratten led Carlton to the finals from 2009 until 2011, but was sacked with a year remaining on his contact after the club missed the finals in 2012,^[15] and was replaced by former West Coast and Collingwood premiership coach Mick Malthouse.^[16] Under Malthouse, the club returned to the finals in 2013, but fell to thirteenth in 2014. Kernahan and Swann stepped aside in mid-2014, and were replaced by Mark LoGiudice as president and Steven Trigg as CEO.

The club's on-field performances deteriorated drastically in the early part of 2015, and after eight weeks it was bottom of the ladder. The relationship between Malthouse and the club's new board began to deteriorate publicly; and on 26 May, after giving a radio interview critical of the board, Malthouse was sacked;^[17] the club went on to finish last.

Rebuild under Bolton (2016-)

Former Hawthorn assistant coach Brendon Bolton took over as coach from the 2016 season,^[18] taking the club to 14th in his first year.

Club symbols

Guernsey

The current Carlton guernsey is plain navy blue, emblazoned with a white CFC monogram (which stands for "Carlton Football Club") on the front, and white numbers on the back. Other than changes to the font of the monogram, this has been Carlton's guernsey continually since 1909.^[19] The club has worn navy blue in its uniform since 1871, when colour of the team's caps was changed from orange/yellow.^[20] The club's on-and-off field apparel have been manufactured by Nike since 1998.^[21][22]

The team wears navy-blue shorts in home games, and white shorts in away games. Since 2013, Carlton's clash guernsey has been predominantly white, with navy blue monogram, numbers and some trimmings.^[23]

Nickname

Carlton's official nickname is the 'Blues'. Since the addition of navy blue to the playing uniform in 1871, the club has been known almost universally in print media as the Blues, Dark Blues or Navy Blues. Other colloquial nicknames include Bluebaggers or 'Baggers.^[20]

Prior to 1871, when the uniform was predominantly chamois, the club was known informally as the Butchers. After World War II, the club briefly considered changing its nickname to the Cockatoos, but this never formally eventuated;^[20] even so, the push was serious enough that newspaper cartoons depicting a Carlton cockatoo were printed around that time.^[24]

Club song

Carlton's club song is We Are the Navy Blues. The song is sung to the tune of the chorus of "Lily of Laguna" by Leslie Stuart.

Home ground

The club's traditional home ground is Princes Park (currently known as Ikon Park), located in North Carlton. After struggling to find a permanent home venue during its time in the VFA, Carlton established Princes Park as its home venue when it joined the VFL in 1897.^[2] The club played most of its home matches at Princes Park every year between 1897–2004 (except for 2002, when it played only four home games there), and a single farewell game was staged at the venue in 2005. It was the last of the suburban home grounds^{N 3} to be used in AFL competition.

Since 2005, Carlton has split its home games between Docklands Stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with matches expecting to draw higher crowds usually played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. From 2005 until 2014, Docklands Stadium was the club's primary home ground and hosted the majority of Carlton's home games in those years, under a ten-year deal established during Ian Collins' presidency. The Melbourne Cricket Ground became the club's primary home ground from 2015, and has hosted the majority of the club's home games.^[25]

Club honour board

Year	Finishing position[26]	President	Coach[26]	Captain[26]	Best and Fairest	Leading Goalkicker[27] (Total)
1864	–	R. McFarland	–	Harry Chadwick	–
1865	–	R. McFarland	–	Harry Chadwick	–
1866	–	J. Linacre	–	Theophilus Marshall	–
1867	–	G. Coppin	–	David Adamson	–
1868	–	G. Coppin	–	Jack Conway	–
1869	–	G. Coppin	–	Jack Conway	–
1870	3rd	G. Coppin	–	Jack Conway	–
1871	Premiers	G. Coppin	–	Jack Conway	–
1872	Runners-up	G. Coppin	–	Jack Donovan	–
1873	Premiers	J. Walls	–	George Kennedy	–
1874	Premiers	R. Robertson	–	Jack Donovan	–
1875	Premiers	R. Robertson	–	Harry Guy	–
1876	Runners-up	R. Robertson	–	Jack Gardiner	–
1877	Premiers	R. Robertson	–	Jack Gardiner	–
1878	3rd	R. Robertson	–	Jack Gardiner	–	George Coulthard (15)
1879	Runners-up	R. Robertson	–	Jack Gardiner	–	George Coulthard (19)
1880	3rd	R. Robertson	–	George Robertson	–	George Coulthard (21)
1881	3rd	R. Robertson	–	George Robertson	–
1882	4th	R. Robertson	–	William Goer	–
1883	3rd	R. Robertson	–	Dick Frayne	–
1884	6th	R. Robertson	–	Jack Baker	–
1885	4th	R. Robertson	–	Jack Baker	–
1886	3rd	A. Gillespie	–	Sam Bloomfield	–
1887	Premiers	A. Gillespie	–	Tom Leydin	–
1888	4th	A. Gillespie	–	Tom Leydin	–
1889	Runners-up	A. Gillespie	–	Tom Leydin	–
1890	Runners-up	A. Gillespie	–	Bill Strickland	–
1891	Runners-up	A. Gillespie	–	Jack Lorraine	–
1892	5th	A. Gillespie	–	Bill Walton	–
1893	8th	A. Gillespie	–	Danny Hutchinson	–
1894	10th	A. Gillespie	–	Peter Williams	–
1895	11th	F. B. Bromby	–	Tom Blake	–
1896	12th	A.H. Shaw	–	Tom Blake	–
1897	7th	A.H. Shaw	-	Jimmy Aitken	–	Wally O'Cock (13)
1898	7th	A.H. Shaw	-	Ernie Walton	–	Tommy O'Day (8)
1899	7th	A.H. Shaw	-	Ernie Walton	–	Harry Thompson (8)
1900	7th	A.H. Shaw	-	Will Stuckey	–	Joe Sullivan (18)
1901	7th	Robert Heatley	–	Will Stuckey	–	Joe Sullivan (14)
1902	6th	Robert Heatley	Jack Worrall	Joe McShane	–	Fred Webber (11)
1903	3rd	Robert Heatley	Jack Worrall	Joe McShane	–	Joe Sullivan (27)
1904	Grand Finalist	Henry Bourne Higgins	Jack Worrall	Joe McShane	–	Mick Grace (26)
1905	3rd	W.F. Evans	Jack Worrall	Jim Flynn	–	Frank Caine (25)
1906	Premiers	W.F. Evans	Jack Worrall	Jim Flynn	–	Mick Grace (50)
1907	Premiers	J. Urquhart	Jack Worrall	Jim Flynn	–	Frank Caine (32)
1908	Premiers	J. Urquhart	Jack Worrall	Fred Elliott	–	Vin Gardiner (34)
1909	Grand Finalist	J. Urquhart	Jack Worrall	Fred Elliott	–	George Topping (36)
1910	Grand Finalist	J. McInerney	Fred Elliott	Fred Elliott	–	Vin Gardiner (42)
1911	4th	J. McInerney	Fred Elliott	Fred Elliott	–	Vin Gardiner (47)
1912	3rd	D. Bell	Norman Clark	Jack Wells	–	Vin Gardiner (47)
1913	6th	D. Bell	Jack Wells	Jack Wells	–	Vin Gardiner (27)
1914	Premiers	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Billy Dick	–	Bill Cook (27)
1915	Premiers	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Billy Dick	–	Herb Burleigh (46)
1916	Grand Finalist	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Billy Dick	–	Vin Gardiner (44)
1917	3rd	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Billy Dick	–	Billy Dick (22)
1918	3rd	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Rod McGregor	–	Ern Cowley (35)
1919	4th	Jack Gardiner	Viv Valentine	Charlie Fisher	–	Charlie Fisher (36)
1920	3rd	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Paddy O'Brien	–	Horrie Clover
1921	Grand Finalist	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Gordon Green	–	Horrie Clover (58)
1922	4th	Jack Gardiner	Norman Clark	Ernie Jamieson, Horrie Clover	–	Horrie Clover (56)
1923	7th	Jack Gardiner	Horrie Clover	Horrie Clover	–	Horrie Clover (28)
1924	7th	Jack Gardiner	Percy Parratt	Paddy O'Brien	–	Alex Duncan (27)
1925	9th	David Young	Paddy O'Brien	Jim Caldwell	–	Harvey Dunn (35)
1926	6th	David Young	Ray Brew	Ray Brew	–	Horrie Clover (38)
1927	3rd	David Young	Horrie Clover	Horrie Clover	–	Harold Carter (33)
1928	4th	David Young	Ray Brew	Ray Brew	–	Horrie Clover (41)
1929	3rd	Dave Crone	Dan Minogue	Ray Brew	Horrie Clover	Harry "Soapy" Vallence (64)
1930	3rd	Dave Crone	Dan Minogue	Ray Brew	–	Les Allen (56)
1931	3rd	Dave Crone	Dan Minogue	Ray Brew	–	Harry Vallence (86)
1932	Grand Finalist	Dave Crone	Dan Minogue	Colin Martyn	–	Harry Vallence (97)
1933	4th	Dave Crone	Dan Minogue	Frank Gill	–	Harry Vallence (84)
1934	5th	Dave Crone	Dan Minogue	Maurie Johnson	Creswell Crisp	Creswell 'Mickey' Crisp (44)
1935	4th	Dave Crone	Frank Maher	Charlie Davey	Jim Francis	Harry Vallence (66)
1936	4th	Dave Crone	Frank Maher	Jim Francis	Ansell Clarke	Harry Vallence (86)
1937	5th	Dave Crone	Percy Rowe	Ansell Clarke	Don McIntyre	Harry Vallence (39)
1938	Premiers	Sir Kenneth G.Luke	Brighton Diggins	Brighton Diggins	Creswell Crisp	Harry Vallence (81)
1939	5th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Brighton Diggins	Brighton Diggins	Frank Gill	Ken Baxter (65)
1940	5th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Brighton Diggins	Brighton Diggins	Jim Francis	Paul Schmidt (55)
1941	3rd	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Jim Francis	Bob Chitty	Paul Schmidt (77)
1942	5th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Jim Francis	Jim Mooring	Paul Schmidt (47)
1943	4th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Jim Francis	George Gneil	Jack Wrout (33)
1944	5th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Jim Francis, Bob Atkinson	Bob Chitty	Jim Mooring (42)
1945	Premiers	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Bob Chitty	Ron Savage	Lance Collins (49)
1946	6th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Bob Chitty	Jack Howell	Ken Baxter (46)
1947	Premiers	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ern Henfry	Bert Deacon, Ern Henfry	Ken Baxter (42)
1948	6th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ern Henfry	Jack Howell	Ken Baxter, Ray Garby (39)
1949	Grand Finalist	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ern Henfry	Ern Henfry	Ken Baxter (46)
1950	8th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ern Henfry	Arthur Hodgson	Ken Baxter (43)
1951	7th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ern Henfry	Jim Clark	Keith Warburton (48)
1952	4th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ern Henfry, Ken Hands	Ollie Grieve	Jack Howell (42)
1953	5th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ken Hands	Ken Hands	Jack Spencer (32)
1954	8th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ken Hands	Bill Milroy	Noel O'Brien (45)
1955	7th	Sir Kenneth G. Luke	Percy Bentley	Ken Hands	John James	Noel O'Brien (73)
1956	5th	Horrie Clover	Jim Francis	Ken Hands	Doug Beasy	Kevan Hamilton (22)
1957	4th	Horrie Clover	Jim Francis	Ken Hands	Bruce Comben	Gerald Burke (34)
1958	7th	Lew Holmes	Jim Francis	Bruce Comben	Bruce Comben	John Heathcote (19)
1959	3rd	Lew Holmes	Ken Hands	Bruce Comben	John Nicholls	Sergio Silvagni (40)
1960	7th	Lew Holmes	Ken Hands	Bruce Comben	John James	Leo Brereton (44)
1961	8th	Lew Holmes	Ken Hands	Graham Donaldson	John James	Tom Carroll (54)
1962	Grand Finalist	Lew Holmes	Ken Hands	Graham Donaldson	Sergio Silvagni	Tom Carroll (62)
1963	6th	Lew Holmes	Ken Hands	John Nicholls	John Nicholls	Tom Carroll (27)
1964	10th	Lew Holmes	Ken Hands	Sergio Silvagni	Gordon Collis	Ian Nankervis (18)
1965	6th	George Harris	Ron Barassi	Ron Barassi	John Nicholls	Bryan Quirk (29)
1966	6th	George Harris	Ron Barassi	Ron Barassi	John Nicholls	Adrian Gallagher (24)
1967	3rd	George Harris	Ron Barassi	Ron Barassi	John Nicholls	Brian Kekovich (38)
1968	Premiers	George Harris	Ron Barassi	Ron Barassi, John Nicholls	Sergio Silvagni	Brian Kekovich (59)
1969	Grand Finalist	George Harris	Ron Barassi	John Nicholls	Garry Crane	Alex Jesaulenko (66)
1970	Premiers	George Harris	Ron Barassi	John Nicholls	Adrian Gallagher	Alex Jesaulenko (115)
1971	5th	George Harris	Ron Barassi	John Nicholls	Geoff Southby	Alex Jesaulenko (56)
1972	Premiers	George Harris	John Nicholls	John Nicholls	Geoff Southby	Greg Kennedy (76)
1973	Grand Finalist	George Harris	John Nicholls	John Nicholls	Peter Jones	Brian Walsh (60)
1974	7th	George Harris	John Nicholls, Robert Walls	John Nicholls, Alex Jesaulenko	Bruce Doull	Craig Davis (45)
1975	4th	Ivan Rohrt	John Nicholls	Alex Jesaulenko	Alex Jesaulenko	Robert Walls (59)
1976	3rd	Ivan Rohrt	Ian Thorogood	Alex Jesaulenko	Trevor Keogh	Robert Walls (55)
1977	6th	Ivan Rohrt	Ian Thorogood	Robert Walls	Bruce Doull	Mark Maclure (39)
1978	4th	George Harris	Ian Stewart, Alex Jesaulenko	Robert Walls, Alex Jesaulenko	Trevor Keogh	Rod Galt (49)
1979	Premiers	George Harris	Alex Jesaulenko	Alex Jesaulenko	Mike Fitzpatrick	Ken Sheldon (53)
1980	4th	Ian Rice	Peter Jones	Mike Fitzpatrick	Bruce Doull	Wayne Johnston (51)
1981	Premiers	Ian Rice	David Parkin	Mike Fitzpatrick	Ken Hunter	Peter Bosustow (59)
1982	Premiers	Ian Rice	David Parkin	Mike Fitzpatrick	James Buckley	Ross Ditchburn (61)
1983	5th	John Elliott	David Parkin	Mike Fitzpatrick	Wayne Johnston	Ken Hunter (43)
1984	4th	John Elliott	David Parkin	Wayne Johnston	Bruce Doull	Warren Ralph (55)
1985	5th	John Elliott	David Parkin	Wayne Johnston	Justin Madden	Mark Maclure (48)
1986	Grand Finalist	John Elliot	Robert Walls	Mark Maclure	Wayne Johnston, Craig Bradley	Stephen Kernahan (62)
1987	Premiers	John Elliot	Robert Walls	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Kernahan (73)
1988	3rd	John Elliot	Robert Walls	Stephen Kernahan	Craig Bradley	Stephen Kernahan (54)
1989	8th	John Elliot	Robert Walls, Alex Jesaulenko	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Kernahan (59)
1990	8th	John Elliot	Alex Jesaulenko	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Silvagni	Stephen Kernahan (69)
1991	11th	John Elliot	David Parkin	Stephen Kernahan	Justin Madden	Stephen Kernahan (46)
1992	7th	John Elliot	David Parkin	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Kernahan (83)
1993	Grand Finalist	John Elliot	David Parkin	Stephen Kernahan	Craig Bradley	Stephen Kernahan (68)
1994	5th	John Elliot	David Parkin	Stephen Kernahan	Greg Williams	Stephen Kernahan (82)
1995	Premiers	John Elliot	David Parkin	Stephen Kernahan	Brett Ratten	Stephen Kernahan (63)
1996	6th	John Elliot	David Parkin	Stephen Kernahan	Stephen Silvagni	Stephen Kernahan (56)
1997	11th	John Elliot	David Parkin	Stephen Kernahan	Brett Ratten	Anthony Koutoufides (28)
1998	11th	John Elliot	David Parkin	Craig Bradley	Fraser Brown	Lance Whitnall (46)
1999	Grand Finalist	John Elliot	David Parkin	Craig Bradley	Matthew Allan	Lance Whitnall (55)
2000	3rd	John Elliot	David Parkin	Craig Bradley	Brett Ratten, Scott Camporeale	Lance Whitnall (70)
2001	6th	John Elliot	Wayne Brittain	Craig Bradley	Anthony Koutoufides	Matthew Lappin (49)
2002	16th	John Elliot	Wayne Brittain	Brett Ratten	Corey McKernan	Corey McKernan (40)
2003	15th	Ian Collins	Denis Pagan	Brett Ratten, Andrew McKay	Andrew McKay	Brendan Fevola (63)
2004	11th	Ian Collins	Denis Pagan	Anthony Koutoufides	David Teague	Brendan Fevola (66)
2005	16th	Ian Collins	Denis Pagan	Anthony Koutoufides	Anthony Koutoufides	Brendan Fevola (49)
2006	16th	Ian Collins, Graham Smorgon	Denis Pagan	Anthony Koutoufides	Lance Whitnall	Brendan Fevola (84)
2007	15th	Graham Smorgon, Stephen Kernahan, Richard Pratt	Denis Pagan, Brett Ratten	Lance Whitnall	Andrew Carrazzo	Brendan Fevola (59)
2008	11th	Richard Pratt, Stephen Kernahan	Brett Ratten	Chris Judd	Chris Judd	Brendan Fevola (99)
2009	7th	Stephen Kernahan	Brett Ratten	Chris Judd	Chris Judd	Brendan Fevola (89)
2010	8th	Stephen Kernahan	Brett Ratten	Chris Judd	Chris Judd	Eddie Betts (42)
2011	5th	Stephen Kernahan	Brett Ratten	Chris Judd	Marc Murphy	Andrew Walker (56)
2012	10th	Stephen Kernahan	Brett Ratten	Chris Judd	Heath Scotland	Eddie Betts (48)
2013	6th	Stephen Kernahan	Mick Malthouse	Marc Murphy	Kade Simpson	Jeff Garlett (43)
2014	13th	Stephen Kernahan Mark LoGiudice	Mick Malthouse	Marc Murphy	Bryce Gibbs	Jarrad Waite (29)
2015	18th	Mark LoGiudice	Mick Malthouse John Barker	Marc Murphy	Patrick Cripps	Andrejs Everitt (31)
2016	14th	Mark LoGiudice	Brendon Bolton	Marc Murphy	Sam Docherty	Matthew Wright (22)

Carlton Team of the Century

Carlton's Team of the Century:
B:	Bruce Comben	Stephen Silvagni*	Geoff Southby
HB:	John James	Bert Deacon	Bruce Doull*
C:	Garry Crane	Greg Williams*	Craig Bradley
HF:	Wayne Johnston	Stephen Kernahan (Captain)	Alex Jesaulenko*
F:	Ken Hands	Harry Vallence	Rod Ashman
Foll:	John Nicholls*	Sergio Silvagni	Adrian Gallagher
Int:	Robert Walls	Mike Fitzpatrick	Ken Hunter
	Trevor Keogh
Coach:	David Parkin.

Four emergencies were also named: (1) Laurie Kerr, (2) Bob Chitty, (3) Horrie Clover and (4) Rod McGregor. The five players with an asterisk(*) are also members of the AFL Team of the Century – the largest number of any AFL club.

Hall of Fame

The Carlton Football Club established its Hall of Fame in 1987, with nine inaugural inductees. As of May 2016, there have been 77 inductees.

The club added a Legends category to the Hall of Fame in 1997. There are currently thirteen Legends in the Hall of Fame: Craig Bradley, Bert Deacon, Bruce Doull, Alex Jesaulenko, Wayne Johnston, Stephen Kernahan, John Nicholls, Stephen Silvagni and Harry Vallence (all elevated in 1997); Ken Hands (2006); Robert Walls (2011);^[28] Geoff Southby (2013);^[29] and Sergio Silvagni (2016).^[30]

Current playing squad

Carlton's current Senior Coach is Brendon Bolton, who takes over the team for the 2016 season. Marc Murphy has captained the team since March 2013.

Carlton Football Club
Senior list						Rookie list		Coaching staff
1 Jack Silvagni  3 Marc Murphy (c)  4 Bryce Gibbs  5 Sam Petrevski-Seton  6 Kade Simpson (vc)  7 Dylan Buckley  8 Matthew Kreuzer  9 Patrick Cripps 10 Harry McKay 11 Sam Kerridge 12 Blaine Boekhorst 13 Jed Lamb 14 Liam Jones 15 Sam Docherty 16 Billie Smedts 17 Sam Rowe 18 Kristian Jaksch 19 Liam Sumner 20 Lachie Plowman 22 Caleb Marchbank		23 Jacob Weitering 24 Rhys Palmer 25 Zac Fisher 26 Harrison Macreadie 27 Dennis Armfield 28 David Cuningham 29 Cameron Polson 30 Charlie Curnow 31 Tom Williamson 32 Nick Graham 33 Jarrod Pickett 34 Andrew Phillips 35 Ed Curnow 36 Patrick Kerr 37 Daniel Gorringe 38 Ciarán Byrne 39 Dale Thomas 41 Levi Casboult 43 Simon White 46 Matthew Wright				21 Ciarán Sheehan (B) 40 Jesse Glass-McCasker 42 Kym LeBois 44 Alex Silvagni 45 Andrew Gallucci 48 Matt Korcheck (B)		Head coach Brendon Bolton Assistant coaches Neil Craig (director of coaching, development and performance) John Barker (stoppages) Tim Clarke (midfield) Shane Watson (forward) Dale Amos (backline) Matthew Capuano (development coach) Andrew Walker (development coach) Josh Fraser (VFL coach) Sav Rocca (kicking coach) Legend: (c) Captain (vc) Vice captain Long-term injury list Upgraded rookie(s) (B) Category B Rookie Updated: 7 June 2017 Source(s): Senior list, Rookie list, Coaching staff

Corporate and administration

Board of directors

President – Mark Lo Giudice

Vice presidents – Richard Newton, Jeannie Pratt

Board members – Marcus Clarke, Zac Fried, Raphael Geminder, Adrian Gleeson, Mark Harrison, Greg Lee, Stephen Moulton, Ari Suss

Chief Executive Officers

CEOs since 1980.

Incumbent	Term
Jim Allison	1980–1981
Ian Collins	1981–1993
Stephen Gough	1994–1999
John Gurrieri	2000
Don Hanly	2001–2002
Michael Malouf	2003–2007
Greg Swann	2007–2014
Steven Trigg	2014–

Membership

Year	Total Members [31]
1984	12,774
1985	13,317
1986	14,905
1987	9,227
1988	11,936
1989	10,060
1990	10,978
1991	12,736
1992	12,354
1993	14,445
1994	18,308
1995	18,032
1996	23,278
1997	24,984
1998	25,402
1999	25,719
2000	27,571
2001	27,725
2002	26,385
2003	33,525
2004	32,095
2005	33,534
2006	28,756
2007	35,431
2008	39,360
2009	42,408
2010	40,480
2011	43,791
2012	45,800
2013	50,561
2014	47,485
2015	47,305
2016	50,130
2017	50,005 (current 20/7/2017)[32]

Records and achievements

Club records

Premierships

See Carlton Football Club premierships

Competition	Level	Wins	Years Won
Challenge Cup	Seniors	1	1871
Pre-VFA era	Seniors	4	1871, 1873, 1874, 1875
VFA	Seniors	2	1877, 1887
VFL/AFL	Seniors	16	1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995
VFL/AFL	Reserves	8	1926, 1927, 1928, 1951, 1953, 1986, 1987, 1990
VFL/AFL	Under 19s	6	1948, 1949, 1951, 1963, 1978, 1979
Championship of Australia	Seniors	2	1968, 1970
Australian Football Championships	Night Premiership	1	1983
AFL	Preseason premiership	3	1997, 2005, 2007
VFL/AFL	McClelland Trophy	5	1969, 1979, 1985 (tied), 1987, 1995
VFL/AFL	Minor Premiers	17	1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1921, 1932, 1938, 1941, 1947, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1995
VFL/AFL	Wooden Spoons	4	2002, 2005, 2006, 2015

VFL/AFL finishing positions (1897–present)

Ladder Position	Year (Finals in Bold)	Tally
1st	1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995	16
2nd	1904, 1909, 1910, 1916, 1921, 1932, 1949, 1962, 1969, 1973, 1986, 1993, 1999	13
3rd	1903, 1905, 1912, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1941, 1959, 1967, 1976, 1988, 2000	16
4th	1911, 1919, 1922, 1927, 1928, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1943, 1952, 1957, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1984	15
5th	1934, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1953, 1956, 1971, 1983, 1985, 1994, 2011	13
6th	1902, 1913, 1946, 1948, 1926, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1977, 1996, 2001, 2013	12
7th	1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1923, 1924, 1951, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1974, 1992, 2009	14
8th	1950, 1954, 1961, 1989, 1990, 2010	6
9th	1925	1
10th	1964, 2012	2
11th	1991, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2008	5
12th	nil	0
13th	2014	1
14th	2016	1
15th	2003, 2007	2
16th	2002, 2005, 2006	3
17th	nil	0
18th	2015	1

Individual awards

Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees

Twenty-two people have been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame for their services to football for careers which were either partially or entirely served with the Carlton Football Club. Of those, three have Legend status in the Hall of Fame.

Legends

Ron Barassi, Alex Jesaulenko, John Nicholls

Players

Peter Bedford, Craig Bradley, Horrie Clover, George Coulthard, Bruce Doull, Ken Hands, Ern Henfry, Stephen Kernahan, Anthony Koutoufides, Rod McGregor, Peter McKenna, Stephen Silvagni, Geoff Southby, Harry Vallence, Robert Walls, Greg Williams.

Coaches

David Parkin, Jack Worrall

Administrators

Sir Kenneth Luke

Individual records

VFL/AFL Match records

• Most goals in a game: 13 by Horrie Clover vs. St Kilda in 1921
• Highest score: 30.30 (210) vs. Hawthorn on 12 April 1969
• Lowest score: 0.6 (6) vs. Collingwood on 4 June 1898
• Greatest winning margin: 140 points vs. St Kilda on 8 April 1985
• Greatest losing margin: 138 points vs. Hawthorn on 24 July 2015
• Highest losing score: 22.13 (145) v North Melbourne on 15 April 1985
• Lowest winning score: 3.6 (24) v South Melbourne on 24 June 1899
• Record attendance (home and away game): 91,571, 21 July 2000 at MCG v Essendon
• Record attendance (finals match): 121,696, Grand Final, 26 September 1970 v Collingwood.

Development systems

Reserves team

Carlton operated its own reserves team from 1919 until 2002. From 1919 to 1991 the VFL/AFL operated a reserves competition, and from 1992 to 1999 a de facto AFL reserves competition was run by the Victorian State Football League. The Carlton Football Club fielded a reserves team in both of these competitions, allowing players who were not selected for the senior team to play for Carlton in the lower grade. During that time, the Carlton reserves team won eight premierships (1926, 1927, 1928, 1951, 1953, 1986, 1987, 1990). Following the demise of the AFL reserves competition, the Carlton reserves team competed in the new Victorian Football League for three seasons from 2000 until 2002.

The reserves team was dissolved at the end of 2002, and Carlton entered a reserves affiliation with existing VFL club, the Northern Bullants. Under the affiliation, reserves players for Carlton play VFL football with the Northern Bullants. The partnership between the two clubs was strengthened in 2012, when the Northern Bullants were renamed the Northern Blues and they adopted Carlton's navy blue colours. The club now splits its home games between the VFL club's traditional home, the Preston City Oval; and Carlton's traditional home, Ikon Park.

Next Generation Academy

Under the AFL's plan (released in February 2016) to establish club-branded Next Generation Academies across Australia to give all AFL clubs a more active role in junior development, Carlton was allocated the northern metropolitan zone of Melbourne. The academy will be linked to the Preston-based Northern Knights in the TAC Cup system.^[37]

AFL Women's team

Carlton was a key cog in the establishment of Women's football in the state of Victoria. In August 1933 the club hosted the first ever VFL/AFL sanctioned match between women's teams, with sides representing Carlton and Richmond. Though Richmond's side was not associated directly with the VFL club of the same name, the Carlton side was picked and trained by the club with VFL players Mickey Crisp and Ray Brew as coaches. The match, played at Carlton's home Princes Park drew an estimated crowd of 10,000 and raised funds as part of a VFL bye-week carnival for The Royal Melbourne Hospital.^[38]

The club next fielded a women's team more than a decade later when it competed in a 1947 charity exhibition series raising funds in support of food shortages in post-war commonwealth countries. The club's team played multiple matches in multiple series that season including a match against Footscray in July and a subsequent series against Hawthorn, South Melbourne, St Kilda and Footscray in August 1947.^[39]

In June 2016, Carlton was granted a licence to establish and field a team in the eight team AFL Women's league, which is set to stage its inaugural season in February–March 2017. The team will be run and fully integrated within the Carlton Football Club, with football operation overseen by existing Head of Football Andrew McKay.^[40][41] On 30 June 2016, former Western Bulldogs Women's Exhibition Series coach Damien Keeping was announced as the team's inaugural head coach.^[41]

The club's Female Football Ambassador, Lauren Arnell, was signed as a priority selection due to her existing relationship with the club.^[42] She, along with Marquee players ^[43] Darcy Vescio and Brianna Davey formed the clubs first signings. A further 19 players were added to the list on 12 October 2016 as part of the league's first draft. ^[44]

Existing club sponsors Hyundai and Visy committed as sponsors in April 2016 prior to the club being awarded a license.^[42]

Current squad

Carlton Football Club (AFL Women's)
Senior list						Rookie list		Coaching staff
1 Brianna Davey (vc)  2 Katie Loynes  3 Darcy Vescio  4 Madeline Keryk (vc)  5 Kate Gillespie-Jones  6 Gabriella Pound  7 Sarah Last 10 Sarah Hosking 11 Jess Hosking 12 Lauren Brazzale		13 Lauren Arnell (c) 14 Laura Attard 16 Breann Moody 18 Tilly Lucas-Rodd 26 Shae Audley 30 Alison Downie 31 Danielle Hardiman 32 Natalie Plane Tayla Harris Nicola Stevens				25 Kate Shierlaw		Head coach Damien Keeping Assistant coaches Scott Gowans Jane Lange Graham Burgen Jackson Kornberg Brett Alexander (development) Vanessa Lewicki (development) Dennis Armfield (skills) Legend: (c) Captain (vc) Vice captain Updated: 30 May 2017 Source(s): Senior list, Coaching staff

Best and fairest winners

Season	Recipient	Ref.
2017	Brianna Davey	[45]

See also

• Wikipedia listing of Carlton players
• List of Carlton Football Club coaches
• Sport in Australia
• Sport in Victoria

Footnotes

1.^ Specifically, Carlton's 19–1 record set a record for the best win-loss percentage across a full season, including finals, which stood until Essendon broke it in the 2000 AFL season with a record of 24–1. The record was matched twice before it was broken: by Collingwood in 1929, and Essendon in 1950.^[46]

2.^ Harris had served two tenures as Carlton president: from 1965–1974, then from 1978–1979.

3.^ The "suburban grounds" is a collective term generally understood to mean all venues in Melbourne, except for the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Docklands Stadium and Waverley Park.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carlton Football Club.

• Official Website of the Carlton Football Club
• Blueseum – History of the Carlton Football Club