Career : 1994 – 2001
Debut : Round 8, 1994 vs Richmond, aged 26 years, 57 days
Carlton Player No. 997
Games : 234 (118 at Carlton)
Goals : 85 (42 at Carlton)
Last Game : Round 20, 2001 vs St Kilda, aged 33 years, 155 days
Guernsey No. 23
Height : 180 cm
Weight : 92 kg
DOB : 17 March, 1968
Premiership Player 1995

A courageous, versatile, blonde-haired right footer who was given a second chance by Carlton when his career at St Kilda prematurely ended, Dean Rice was a mainstay of the Blues’ 1995 Premiership team and a real asset to the club throughout his 118 games between 1994 and 2001.

Famously nick-named “Special Fried” by Rex Hunt, the 3AW radio caller, Rice was the nephew of former Geelong captain and 1963 Premiership player Colin Rice. After starting his junior football at Essex Heights, which at the time was aligned with Richmond, Dean joined Longwood in the Benalla District League to play alongside his two older brothers. The family connection with Geelong came into play when the Cats recruited him for their Under-19 squad, but he failed to progress further than Reserves level at Kardinia Park before he was discarded.

In 1986 – still just 19, Rice was given a trial by St Kilda and won a place on their senior list. He made his debut for the Saints early the following season and was soon a regular member of their team. Powerfully built, a clever mark and surprisingly quick, he found his niche on the wing at Moorabbin and represented Victoria in an interstate match against South Australia in 1989. By 1991 Dean had played more than 100 games for St Kilda, and had experienced finals football for the first time when the Saints fell to Geelong in that years’ Elimination Final.

However, that charmed run came to an abrupt halt during the 1992 pre-season, when Rice suffered a ruptured ACL ligament in his left knee. A full reconstruction was required, and he was off the field for the entire season. He came back to play 11 games in 1993, only to damage his other knee (thankfully, nowhere near as badly) against Adelaide in round 15. That turned out to be his last game for St Kilda, because the Saints decided not to gamble on his future and delisted him at season’s end.

Meanwhile, Carlton was smarting from a humiliating defeat by Essendon in the 1993 Grand Final, where the Blues’ lack of pace and desperation had been brutally exposed. Rice had his admirers at Carlton – including coach David Parkin, who was very happy when the 25 year-old was picked up by the Blues at pick 19 in the 1994 Pre-Season Draft, and given the number 23 guernsey previously worn by 1987 Premiership player Paul Meldrum.

Rice ran out for his first game in navy blue against Richmond on a Friday night in round 8, 1994, and was immediately under notice. Playing out of a forward pocket, he had taken two excellent marks on the lead and kicked his first goal for the Blues right on quarter-time, before disaster struck. In the first minutes of the second term, Richmond’s Tony Free fell across Rice’s rebuilt knee while both were scrambling for the football, and the pain told Dean immediately that another season was over. Still, Carlton retained their faith in him, and constant reassurance helped him through another reconstruction and the gruelling months of rehabilitation for a second time.

Almost precisely one year later, Rice returned to Carlton’s senior team in time for the Blues’ only two losses in 1995 – against Sydney in round 8, and St Kilda in round 9. From then on, the rampaging Blues swept all before them, and stormed to another flag by demolishing Geelong in a one-sided Grand Final. Rice was more than handy in that triumph – especially during the second quarter, when he kicked the goal that swiftly put down Geelong’s attempted resurgence.

Despite occasional pain in his rebuilt knee, Dean became a true utility as his career progressed – a reliable running half-back or winger, and a crafty defensive forward when required. In 1999 he had perhaps his most consistent season, playing 22 regular season games and four finals – including Carlton’s astounding Preliminary Final victory over Essendon, and the somewhat anti-climactic Grand Final loss to North Melbourne that followed a week later.

Another good season in 2000 produced 24 games (including two more finals) before Rice decided that the next season would be his last. Although a serious ankle strain in round 6, 2001 cost him 10 weeks on the sidelines, he returned to play another five games late in the year. By coincidence, his last match saw Carlton account for St Kilda at Docklands in round 20, with Anthony Koutoufides the star.

His AFL career may have ended that afternoon, but Dean wasn’t quite ready to hang up his boots for good. In 2002 he spent one last season with Scoresby in the Eastern Football League, then took over the reins as coach of country club Wonthaggi for another two seasons (2003 – 04), Rice also coached Berwick for two seasons (2011 – 12), Longwarry for two seasons (2013-14). Since 2006, he has held a number of senior positions with AFL Victoria in junior development, training and education.

Dean Rice continued in his football development role, he was the football development manager in the AFL Yarra Ranges from 2013 to 2017. Rice was appointed the AFL South East football development manager for the 2018 season.

More recently, Dean’s very promising son Bailey Rice was eligible to join either Carlton or St Kilda as a father-son selection in the 2015 National Draft. He trained at both clubs, but eventually chose St Kilda and was taken as a third round pick by the Saints at number 49.

The epitome of sacrifice whose true work on the football field was never reflected in the over-indulged statistic sheets. He forged a brilliant career despite significant injuries that may have compromised someone with lesser ambition and drive. Struggled however to understand the concept of international travel and passports.

Milestones

150 Games (AFL) – Round 19, 1997 vs Collingwood
50 Games (Carlton) – Round 13, 1998 vs Fremantle
200 Games (AFL) – Round 1, 2000 vs Brisbane Lions
100 Games (Carlton) – Round 17, 2000 vs Hawthorn

Career Highlights

1995 – Premiership Player
1997 – Pre-Season Premiership Player
1998 – Equal 9th Best & Fairest

Career: 1956 – 1958
Debut: Round 2, 1956 vs Melbourne, aged 18 years, 76 days
702nd Carlton Player
Games: 13
Goals: 11
Last Game: Round 2, 1958 vs North Melbourne, aged 20 years, 73 days
Guernsey No. 7
Height: 170cm
Weight: 70kg
DOB: 5 February, 1938

Originally from Broken Hill North, and known as ‘Cookie’ around the club, Ron O’Dwyer wore guernsey #7 in 13 games for Carlton starting in 1956. He kicked 11 goals for the Blues.

O’Dwyer transferred to Collingwood, he played with the Magpies from 1959 to 1961. In his time at Magpies he played a further 27 games and booted 15 goals. He also played in the losing 1960 Grand Final with the Magpies.

Ron O’Dwyer is currently the President of the AFL X-Men organisation.

Picture:
Ron O’Dwyer in the 1956 Reserves.

Career : 1997 – 1998
Debut : Round 7, 1997 vs Richmond, aged 19 years, 103 days
Carlton Player No. 1017
Games : 16
Goals : 5
Last Game : Round 19, 1998 vs Melbourne, aged 20 years, 193 days
Guernsey Nos. 41 (1997) and 12 (1998).
Height : 176 cm (5 ft. 9 in.)
Weight : 71.3 kg (11 stone, 3 lbs.)
DOB : 27 January, 1978

Jacob ‘Jake’ Anstey was recruited by the Blues from Tuggeranong in the ACT – the same club that produced an earlier high-profile Carlton draftee in Aaron Hamill. A clever, but slightly-built rover-forward, Anstey had been considered a likely AFL footballer since his selection in the 1994 Under 17 All Australian team. Carlton’s recruiters were pleasantly surprised when he was still available at selection 63 in the 1995 National Draft, and snapped him up.

Wearing guernsey number 41, Jake was given a patient introduction to AFL football through Carlton Reserves, and wasn’t promoted until well into his second season. Eventually, he made his senior debut in round 7, 1997, when Carlton took on Richmond at the MCG, and emerged victorious by 22 points. Blues captain Stephen Kernahan kicked only one goal in that game, but it was enough to set a new club aggregate goal-kicking record of 723 goals – breaking the mark previously held by another club legend in Harry Vallence.

A fortnight later, Anstey himself booted his first senior goal in round 9 against Fremantle, and two more in round 15 against Melbourne. He finished the year with four goals and nine games to his credit, although in seven of those matches, he started from the bench.

In 1998, Jake switched to guernsey number 12, and played the best game of his AFL career in a desperately-close loss to Essendon in round 3 at the MCG. Sharing the roving duties with Darren Hulme, Anstey gathered 13 possessions and kicked an important major as the Blues finished all over the Bombers, only to lose by a point. Between then and round 18, he managed another six games, but his scoring opportunities had dried up and he added only one more goal to his tally.

Amid concerns over his slender 71 kg frame, the Blues delisted Anstey at the end of that season. So he nominated again for the National Draft, and was picked up by St. Kilda at pick 81. He wasn’t able to break into the Saints’ senior line-up in his only season at Moorabbin however, and at the end of 1999 he moved on to the second stage of a notable career at suburban and country level.

In 2001, Anstey was voted Best on Ground while starring for Yarra Glen in the Grand Final of the Yarra Valley and Mountain District Football League, under the coaching of another former Blue; 1995 Carlton Premiership defender Adrian Whitehead. The following year, when Whitehead was appointed assistant coach at VFA heavyweights Port Melbourne, Anstey went with him, and was joined by his younger brother Sam. Sam Anstey too, had been at Carlton, playing Reserve Grade football in 1999.

After one season at Port Melbourne, Jake Anstey and Whitehead crossed to Donvale in the Eastern Football League as captain and coach respectively. Jake gave the Magpies three valuable seasons, then headed to the far north of Victoria to captain-coach Mildura in the Sunraysia Football League. After leading the Demons to the SFL Premiership in 2007, he retired from the field in 2010, aged 32.

A lightly built on-baller who simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time with respect to era and opportunity. Very much like Kade Simpson in build, Anstey was never given easy games to find his feet and was without a Simpson-like kick that could cross lines and cause defensive angst. Anstey’s career, like many others before – and no doubt after – shows that timing and a dash of luck are always relevant commodities in sports.

Career Highlights

1997 – 5th Reserves Best & Fairest
1998 – 2nd Reserves Best & Fairest

Career : 1979 – 1981
Debut : Round 3, 1979 vs Essendon, aged 21 years, 73 days
Carlton Player No. 876
Games : 158 (47 at Carlton)
Goals : 58 (15 at Carlton)
Last Game : Round 11, 1981 vs North Melbourne, aged 23 years, 141 days
Guernsey No. 47
Height : 185 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight : 82.5 kg (13 stone, 0 lbs.)
DOB : 16 January, 1958
Premiership Player 1979

Peter Scott Francis was a hard-running, skilful wingman who is fondly remembered for his starring role in Carlton’s famous 1979 Grand Final victory over Collingwood – before he was controversially traded to Fitzroy, and went on to play 158 career games at four clubs.

Born in Heathcote in central Victoria in 1958, Francis was the nephew of Leo Francis, a wingman himself who had played 78 games with North Melbourne from 1945 to 1951. In 1977, Peter was starring for South Bendigo when he was invited to try out at Princes Park, and his form at Reserves level in the latter part of the season left Carlton’s match committee smiling. In guernsey number 47, Francis played regularly across half-forward and kicked 32 goals in only a handful of games.

The following year, he made his senior debut off the interchange bench against Essendon at Waverley in the Blues’ first game of 1979, when three other future stars in Wayne Johnston, Alex Marcou and Robbert Klomp also started their VFL careers. Peter came on late in the game and racked up nine possessions as Carlton beat the Bombers by 21 points. As that season progressed, Francis consolidated his place in a powerful team that sat two wins clear of North Melbourne on top of the ladder after the home and away rounds. Fashionably tall for a wingman of that era, he was disciplined, quick, and a fine mark overhead. His concentration was good, he was eminently coachable, and he could play either an offensive or defensive role as required.

In late September 1979, Francis took part in his twenty-third VFL game, and was one of the Blues’ prime movers in a thrilling Grand Final victory over Collingwood. In front of nearly 113,000 fans on a muddy MCG, Carlton beat the Magpies by five points in a match forever remembered for Wayne Harmes’ determined chase, dive and round-arm swipe at the ball in the dying minutes. Harmes’ actions sent the ball skidding from Collingwood’s right forward pocket into the goal-square, where Ken Sheldon raced in alone to gather and kick the goal that decided the Premiership. Harmes was a worthy winner of the inaugural Norm Smith medal as Best on Ground, but Francis, ‘Dominator’ Johnston, and champion defender Bruce Doull could all have just as easily been chosen. Whilst the Harmes – Sheldon goal will always be remembered Francis ‘arguably’ kicked the goal of the day with a snap from the boundary in front of near Bay 13 was in front of the Southern Stand, it was a huge effort with the wet, heavy footy.

The Blues confirmed their standing as a League power by topping the ladder again in 1980, only to be bundled out of the finals by two straight losses. Meanwhile, Carlton’s neighbours Fitzroy had gone into freefall. Finalists in 1979, the Lions had plunged from fourth to wooden-spooners in the space of 12 months, despite the emergence of a new star in Frank Marchesani, a classy wingman from Marcellin College who was widely-regarded as Recruit of the Year. Imagine then, the furore that erupted in the off-season when Marchesani told Fitzroy that he wanted a clearance to Carlton. Rumours abounded that he was being lured to Princes Park by financial promises that Fitzroy had no hope of matching – but these were immediately denied (and have continued to be denied) by both Marchesani and the Blues. Frank just wanted out of Fitzroy, and Carlton was his preferred destination. The next problem however, was that Fitzroy flatly refused to negotiate, so Marchesani was forced to stand out of the game for six months – until right on the deadline for mid-season clearances on June 30. With no viable option, the Lions at last relented and agreed to swap Marchesani for Peter Francis, which in turn made the situation uncomfortable for Carlton.

A few hours hours later, Carlton’s Chairman of Selectors, Wes Lofts, had the difficult task of telling Francis that the game he was about to play – against North Melbourne at Princes Park – would be his last in Navy Blue. When the news broke, it caused considerable disquiet among the Blues’ players and fans, because Francis was a popular and respected member of a very good football side. However, it didn’t destabilise the team’s spirit, and Carlton surged on to the glory of two more Premierships in 1981 and ’82.

Marchesani went on to a relatively short and chequered career with the Blues, and it can be argued that he never realised his full potential during 36 matches in five injury-plagued seasons. On the other hand, Francis was valuable and consistent at Fitzroy (40 games), Richmond (52 games) and Essendon (19 games) in a career that stretched through to 1988. Francis will be remembered as a player who could hold his own whether it was as a wingman, half-back or ruck-rover He was a player who was a consistently high possession winner. He had good ball skills and kicked well to position

When his playing days ended, Francis turned to coaching, and in 1989 took over the reins at VFA Club Box Hill (playing coach). In 1991 he moved on to St Kilda, where he was reunited with his Blues Premiership teammate Ken Sheldon and served as the Saints’ last U/19’s Coach in 1991 and Reserves coach from 1991 to 1994. Later still, he began a successful career in coaching (1995 – 1996) and as a football administration as was Regional Manager of the Gippsland Power in the elite TAC Cup Under 17 competition for more than a decade.

Away from football he works in the banking industry and lives in Warragul.

In 2010, Francis’ name graced the football media once again with the news that his nephew Andrew Collins was joining Carlton. By coincidence, Collins had agreed to move from Richmond to Carlton, in a direct swap for the Blues’ 43-game midfielder Shaun Grigg.

Bendigo All Stars Team (1972-1997).
In 1997 the Bendigo FL compiled their best team for players originating from the BFL VCFL zones for the period from 1972 – 1997, Francis was named on the wing in that team.

Playing Career
All up Francis played a total of 244 games in the senior and reserves grades during his time in the VFL, with Carlton, Fitzroy, Richmond , Essendon and more recently St Kilda Reserves.
Pre VFL days; Heathcote to 1975 ; South Bendigo 1976, Games 7, Goals 1 ;
Carlton Seniors 1979-81, Games 47, goals 17 ( Honours – Premiership 1979 )
Fitzroy Seniors 1981-83, Games 52, Goals 25 ;
Fitzroy Reserves 1983-84, Games 2, Goals 4.
Richmond Seniors 1984-86, Games: 51, Goals: 22
Richmond Reserves 1986, Games: 7, Goals: 3
Essendon Seniors 1987-88, Games 19, Goals 2 ;
Essendon Reserves 1987-88, Games 10, Goals 2 ;
Box Hill Captain/Coach 1989-90, Games 29, Goals 13 ;
St Kilda Thirds Coach 1991;
St Kilda Reserves Coach 1991-94, Games 1 ;
Gippsland Power U/18 Coach 1995-96.

Career Highlights

1978 – Reserves Leading Goalkicker (32 goals)
1979 – Premiership Player

Career : 2006 – 2012
Debut : Round 21, 2006 vs Collingwood, aged 18 years, 230 days
Carlton Player No. 1096
Games : 70
Goals : 5
Last Game : Round 17, 2012 vs Western Bulldogs, aged 24 years, 196 days
Guernsey No. 18
Height : 192 cm ( 6 ft. 3 in.)
Weight : 87 kg (13 stone, 10 lbs.)
DOB : 9 January, 1988

Another player whose career was dogged by injury, West Australian Paul Bower was recruited from the Peel Thunder Colts in the WAFL by Carlton at selection 20 in the 2005 National Draft. A few weeks beforehand, he had been named at centre half-back in the Under-18 All Australian team, and seemed an ideal fit for a club desperately short of tall defenders. In a six-year career with the Navy Blues Bower went on to play 70 games, highlighted by a top-ten placing in the club’s Best and Fairest in 2009, and finals appearances in 2009-10.

On arrival at Princes Park Paul was allocated guernsey number 18 and cooled his heels for the first half of 2006 with the Northern Bullants. Before long, his pace and aerial skills made his promotion to the AFL inevitable, even as the first of many trips to the medical room with a knee strain delayed his senior debut until the second-last game of the year. In a real baptism of fire, Bower began on the bench for the Blues’ clash with Collingwood at the MCG, and endured a Magpie onslaught. Despite a moment of joy when he kicked his first AFL goal, his team was thrashed by 44 points.

Worse still was to come the following week, when the Sydney Swans delivered a coup de grace to Carlton’s season, hammering the dispirited Blues by 92 points at the SCG. One of the very few positives to come out of that awful drubbing was that Bower spent almost the whole game shadowing one of Sydney’s stars in Michael O’Loughlin, and restricted the dangerous Swan to two of Sydney’s 21 goals.

After spending the early part of 2007 back in the red and white colours of the Bullants, Bower was recalled for round 7, but had minimal impact in another defeat by Collingwood. Omitted again until round 14, he came back with a new determination to take the opposition on at almost every opportunity. Gradually building in confidence, and showing poise in those heart-in-mouth moments, Bower kicked a beautiful goal in round 17 on the run from 50 metres, and began racking up some impressive stats. In Carlton’s last game of the year against Melbourne, Paul gained a career-high 21 disposals and set himself up for a big 2008. His efforts were recognised when he was presented with Carlton’s Past Players Encouragement Award at season’s end.

Season 2008 began on an enormous high at Princes Park when former West Coast champion Chris Judd, arrived to assume the captaincy of Carlton for five seasons. By then, Bower was one of the Blues’ first-choice defenders, and he began his third year of AFL football with a career-high 10 marks and 19 disposals in round 2 against St Kilda. A fortnight later, in a gleefully-celebrated round 4 victory over Collingwood, he kept the Magpies’ gun forward Travis Cloke to 9 possessions and 1 goal while gathering 20 disposals and 8 marks himself. In what loomed as a breakthrough year for the young man with a Maori tribal tattoo on his left arm, the big scalps kept being taken and the good games continued until round 10, when his luck ran out and he damaged a shoulder joint in a fierce tackle by a Geelong opponent. He was sidelined for a couple of months by that injury, but eventually returned to play in Carlton’s impressive come-from-behind victory over Brisbane in round 21.

All the promise of the previous three years came to fruition for Carlton in 2009, and the Navy Blues stepped up into finals contention again for the first time in eight long seasons. Bower had his most consistent and injury-free year, racking up another 20 home and away games, and soaking up the nervous excitement of his first Elimination Final, against the Brisbane Lions on a fine Saturday night at the Gabba. The young Blues led the home side by four goals at three-quarter time in that enthralling contest, but ran out of legs in the last 15 minutes and were narrowly beaten by 7 points.

When season 2010 got underway, Bower’s career seemed to have stabilised on an upward curve, only for quadricep (thigh) muscle injuries that had plagued him throughout 2007-08 to strike again. Forced into a late withdrawal from Carlton’s team that travelled to Brisbane for a rematch with the Lions in round 2, he battled through the first half of the year to play only four matches. By round 16 he had regained his place in the side, but noticeably wasn’t the same adventurous playmaker that we had seen the previous year. Still, he was an important cog in Carlton’s plans for the finals, and earned his place in the side that suffered a second successive gut-wrenching Elimination Final loss – this time by 5 points – to the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium.

Heading into 2011, Paul enjoyed a trouble-free preparation and played well in all five NAB Cup and NAB Challenge matches. He was looking a certainty for selection in round 1, until only a few days before the launch of the season, when another quadricep tear ruled him out of action again for three months. In June, with Carlton camped in the top four on the ladder, he made yet another comeback when he was selected as the Blues’ substitute for the round 12 clash against Brisbane at Docklands, but by late July had managed only two more games and finished the year running around in the low-pressure environment at the Bullants.

During post-season trade week, Bower’s name was bandied about as a probable delisting or trade, however that didn’t happen and he saddled-up for pre-season training again in 2012, under a modified program to strengthen and condition his problem thighs. After getting through without any more setbacks, he seemed on the way back to claiming a regular senior berth when he was selected in a back pocket for Carlton’s much-anticipated round 1 clash with Richmond on the opening night of the season at the MCG. From then on, Bower’s fortunes mirrored those of his team – an excellent start was followed by mid-season jitters, then empty despair.

After round 3, Carlton were flag favourites. Terrific wins over Richmond, Brisbane and Collingwood had the Bluebagger brigades already looking forward to September – until a limp-wristed loss to Essendon and the beginning of a long list of injuries combined to wreck those aspirations. Bower was one of five omissions in the aftermath of that awful loss to the Bombers, although he was quickly recalled for a pedestrian win over GWS at Docklands in round 6. After that he was in and out of the side for the next couple of months – usually playing from the bench. He was given chances up forward on a couple of occasions, but by July it was obvious that his days as one of Carlton’s first-choice defenders were numbered.

Paul played his last game for Carlton in an 18-point over the Western Bulldogs at Docklands on a Saturday night in round 17, 2012 before again finishing off the year with the Northern Blues. Then in early October – to nobody’s real surprise – the club announced that his services were no longer required. He nominated for the National Draft, but failed to find a home at another AFL club, and soon afterward returned home to WA with Peel Thunder.

When reviewing Bowers’ career, it is hard not to conclude that apart from one excellent season in 2009, Blues fans never got to see him at his best on a consistent basis. His body let him down far too often, and his 70 AFL matches stand as a tribute to his persistence as much as his talent.

Career Highlights

2007 Past Players Encouragement Award
2009 7th Best and Fairest

Career: 1978
Debut: Round 3, 1978 Aged 20 years 99 days
Carlton Player No.: 875
Games: 2
Goals: 2
Last Game: Round 4, 1978 Aged 20 years 106 days
Guernsey No. 35
Height: 179cm (5′ 10½”)
Weight: 74kgs (11.8)
DOB: 6 January, 1958

Recruited from Pascoe Vale and then Paramount, he later graduated from the U/19s; wearing guernsey #35 and standing 179cm in height, Halsall played 2 games and kicked 2 goals for Carlton after debuting in 1978. His senior career consisted of two consecutive rounds and under two different coaches.

Halsall wore No.53 in 1976 and 1977 when he played with Carlton’s reserves team.

Career Highlights

1977 – 3rd Reserves Best & Fairest
1978 – 5th Reserves Best & Fairest

Playing Career: 2008 – 2009
Debut: Round 1, 2008 vs Richmond, aged 20 years, 74 days
Carlton Player No. 1 108
Games: 5
Goals: 4
Guernsey 37 (2006 – 2009)
Last game: Round 15, 2008 vs St Kilda, aged 20 years, 187 days
Height: 192cm
Weight: 88kg
DOB: 6 January, 1988

Edwards was drafted with pick #36 in the 2005 National Draft, taken as a bottom aged player for that draft. A footballer of great lineage, his father is Allan ‘Butch’ Edwards, his grandfather Arthur Edwards, and his great grandfather Frank ‘Dolly’ Aked Sr, all of whom have played at senior VFL/AFL leavel.

Edwards would play most of the 2006 season for the Northern Blues up forward, and was named as an emergency for Round 22 of his debut year, a fine effort for the young man. A bulked up Edwards would show promise for the Bullants, again up forward, in 2007, before being injured in Round 6. Thereafter, it was a tough slog from their on in for Edwards, as he failed to find any form whatsoever on his return from injury, but he persevered and was retained by the Blues for 2008.

With a number of recruits for 2008, there seemed to be some competition for spots but an early injury to Brad Fisher gave Edwards an opportunity, and in the last 2 practice games of the pre-season he kicked 2 bags of 3 to demonstrate an ability to support Fevola up forward, and still snag a goal or 3. These performances were enough to see Carlton Coach Brett Ratten announce Edwards’ debut selection for Round 1 of the main season, a disappointing game for many, but one in which young Edwards’ would take 8 marks and demonstrate beautiful hands as a leading forward. Edwards would also kick his first goal in the AFL in the first quarter of his debut, a dribble kick from a loose ball 2 metres out! He would follow up the next week against St Kilda and kick another goal.

Jake was dropped after the St Kilda but earned a recall for the Round 9 victory against Fremantle. Jake played a very good game where he picked up 12 disposals, 9 marks and a goal. He returned for 2 games mid-season, but after a season at the Bullants in 2009, was advised that he would be delisted come season’s end, after 5 games in Navy Blue. Edwards was then invited to train with the Western Bulldogs over summer in hope of gaining a spot onto their 2010 playing list, but did not get picked up at the Kennel. He then headed to the Ballarat League to play with Darley. Edwards signed on to play with VFL Club Port Melbourne in 2011, where he was a member of their premiership side.

Carlton recruited Edwards from the Western Jets U/18’s, he had previously played at Melton.

Career : 1997
Debut : Round 1, 1997 vs Essendon, aged 29 years, 92 days
Carlton Player No. 1012
Games : 155 (3 at Carlton)
Goals : 129 (1 at Carlton)
Last Game : Round 3, 1997 vs Adelaide, aged 29 years, 105 days
Guernsey No. 31
Height : 186 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight : 94 kg (14 stone, 11 lbs.)
DOB : 29 December, 1967At times during the 1990’s, Carlton’s recruiting of seasoned players from other clubs almost became an obsession. True, at times it was a worthwhile exercise, bringing to the club the likes of Greg Williams, Earl Spalding, Dean Rice, Matthew Hogg, Brad Pearce and Matthew Lappin. But for every recruiting hit, there was often a miss – like Collingwood’s veteran Premiership star Michael McGuane. A two-time Best and Fairest and a revered figure at Victoria Park, McGuane had asked the Magpies for a two-year contract extension in 1996, only to be knocked back. At 29, he felt he wasn’t finished, and so requested a trade.

With memories of his exploits against the Blues over the previous decade still fresh, the Carlton match committee gambled that McGuane still had some good football left in him, and he was picked up in return for selections 19 and 65 in the 1996 National Draft. The Magpies used those picks to select Brent Tuckey and Brad Cassidy, who between them played 24 games – not a great number, but still considerably more than the three senior matches McGuane was to manage for his new club. Some time after his departure, Collingwood coach Tony Shaw admitted that he knew McGuane was no longer capable of playing AFL football, but that he “allowed Carlton to find out the hard way”.

Certainly McGuane’s brief sojourn at Princes Park was a failure, but there is no denying that beforehand, he had been one the great players of his time. Recruited by Collingwood from Sebastopol on the southern outskirts of Ballarat, he became one of the hardest-running and creative mid-fielders in the game. After starring in Collingwood’s 1990 Grand Final victory over Essendon, he won the Magpies’ Best and Fairest in 1992 and ’93, and was selected as an All Australian in ’92. In round 2, 1994 at the MCG, he kicked Goal of the Year against the Blues, charging off half-back and taking seven bounces in a jinking solo run, before snapping truly from 30 metres.

Soon after arriving at Princes Park however, McGuane attended training in an intoxicated state, and was involved in a punch-up with one of his rivals for a place in the seniors, Matthew Hogg. The Carlton committee took a dim view of the incident, and for a while, his future at the club appeared in jeopardy. Many felt that he was lucky to escape with a fine and a second chance. A few weeks later, McGuane wore Carlton’s number 31 guernsey for the first time in a match for Premiership points, against Essendon on Easter Monday, 1997. Starting from the interchange bench in front of a massive first round crowd of 82,000 at the MCG, he kicked an opportunist goal late in the game, but apart from that, was rarely sighted as the Blues went down by 7 points. Round 2 was also played on a Monday – a night game at the MCG against North Melbourne – and again, he was hardly noticed.

The following Sunday afternoon at Princes Park, Carlton celebrated the opening of the new Legends Grandstand by running out onto the field in a controversial sky blue strip, under a lucrative sponsorship deal with confectionery maker M&M. A host of stars like Williams, Kernahan, Silvagni, Christou, Pearce and Brown were missing that afternoon, and the Blues trailed after each of the first three quarters. But urged on by a roaring home crowd, the team rallied, and with a dramatic last quarter surge, turned a 14-point deficit into a five-goal victory. Among the casualties from the game was McGuane, who broke down with a serious groin muscle tear that ended his season. He never played AFL football again, and retired at year’s end.

Before that happened however, Carlton coach David Parkin asked his high profile recruit to stay involved by working as one of his assistants. Later, Parkin was to agree with ex-Collingwood Premiership coach Leigh Matthews in saying that McGuane was remarkably astute, with the potential to coach at the highest level. And it didn’t take long for that opinion to be tested, because in 2000 McGuane accepted the senior coaching position with Tasmanian club Burnie. In just his second season, the Hawks went through the year undefeated, to claim their first-ever Northern Tasmania Football League Premiership.

In 2000, McGuane took up his first coaching appointment with Tasmanian club Burnie. In 2001, he led them through an undefeated season, culminating in a premiership. McGuane then returned to Victoria to coach Gisborne in the Bendigo Football League for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons. In 2002 all three teams he coached (Under 18s, Reserves and Seniors) won their Grand Final. The seniors won again in 2003. In 2005, McGuane was appointed a part-time scout at Richmond by coach Terry Wallace, but jumped to St Kilda the following year after securing a full-time coaching appointment under Grant Thomas. After Thomas was sacked at the end of the season, McGuane decided to quit.

McGuane then coached the Balwyn Tigers seniors team in the Eastern Football League Division 1 in 2007. He came to the club at a tough time as they move into the highly rated EFL competition 1st Division. McGuane’s coaching saw Balwyn into the finals in their first year in the competition. Season 2008 saw McGuane take the reins as Senior Coach at the Keilor football club in the EDFL where they were the eventual premiers. In 2016 Mick again took Keilor in the grand final for his 2nd premiership cup as coach. Mick will again take the reins at Keilor in 2017 for a 11th consecutive season as coach.

As far as his football career is concerned, Mick McGuane will always be remembered as a Collingwood star. As for his brief and barren stay at Carlton, it is perhaps best forgotten by all concerned.

Career : 1979 – 1990
Debut : Round 3, 1979 vs Essendon, aged 21 years, 101 days
Carlton Player No. 877
Games : 209
Goals : 283
Guernsey No. 7
Last Game : Round 18, 1990 vs Footscray, aged 32 years, 229 days
Height : 180 cm (5 ft. 11 in.)
Weight : 79 kg (12 stone, 6 lbs.)
DOB : 19 December, 1957
Premiership Player: 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987
Best and Fairest: 1983, 1986 (Equal)
Night Premiership (Captain): 1983
Leading Goalkicker : 1980 (51)
Captain : 1984 – 1985
All Australian 1987
Team of the Century
Carlton Hall of Fame
Carlton Legend

A brilliant, hard-running, aggressive mid-fielder in four Carlton Premiership teams, Wayne Johnston was a player ahead of his time. Years before athletic endurance and absolute intensity became prime requirements of a league footballer, Johnston; ‘The Dominator’ carved his name with capitals into the history of the Carlton Football Club. An outstanding big-occasion player, he was absolutely ruthless in his pursuit of victory.

Originally from Wandin North in Melbourne’s outer-eastern suburbs, Johnston’s path to glory at Princes Park was not a smooth one. Recruited by VFA club Prahran as an 18 year-old in 1975, ‘Johnno’ was a star half-forward for the Two Blues from his first game, and this led to an invitation to join pre-season training at Carlton in 1978. But by his own admission, his first experience of the physical demands of league football caught him out. Rejected as lacking the will to play at elite level, he was sent back to Prahran, somewhat humiliated and with a burning desire to prove his doubters wrong.

Sure enough, Johnston’s ball-winning ability and raking left foot spurred Prahran into the VFA finals again in 1978. He was outstanding when the Two Blues accounted for Preston in a classic ’78 VFA Grand Final, and for the third year in a row, Johnston finished among the top three in Prahran’s Best and Fairest award. In his 68 games at Toorak Park, Johnno steered through 173 goals – an effort that three decades later would win him a place in Prahran’s Team of the Century. More importantly, his confidence and single-minded determination were vindicated when representatives from the Melbourne Football Club came calling, with an invitation to join the Demons.

Before that could happen however, Johnston needed a clearance from Carlton. Alerted by Melbourne’s interest, the Blues decided to take one more look at him during the 1979 pre-season. And so, in the first scheduled practice game, Johnno was matched against another VFA rising star; Coburg’s Phil Cleary. By half-time on that Saturday afternoon at Princes Park, a rampaging Johnston had booted four goals, and Cleary’s dream of playing VFL football had been shattered. Melbourne was told to go fly a kite, and Wayne Johnston became a Blue.

Carlton began their 1979 VFL Premiership campaign by comfortably beating Essendon at Waverley Park in late March. Johnno played on his preferred right flank, (alongside Mark Maclure and Trevor Keogh) in a team still smarting from their semi-final defeat by Collingwood the previous year. Robbert Klomp, Alex Marcou and Peter Francis also started their careers in that match, and all four debutantes were destined for Premiership glory.

Johnston was a consistent contributor throughout that fairytale first season at Princes Park. Steady more than spectacular, his tackling, shepherding and hunger for the contest quickly won him many admirers. Carlton lost only three times on the way to securing the minor Premiership, and set up an eagerly-anticipated Grand Final clash with Collingwood by comfortably accounting for North Melbourne in the second semi final.

When Johnno and his team-mates burst through Carlton’s banner to the roar of more than 112,000 fans at the MCG on Grand Final day, 1979, he was playing just his 20th game of VFL football. Sodden by days of rain, the centre of the ground was a quagmire that turned the game into a contest of will rather than skill. Collingwood held the ascendancy early, and were five goals up mid-way the second term, before Blues’ captain-coach Alex Jesaulenko – until then, unable to break free of Magpie Kevin Morris in the centre – turned the match by switching places with his dynamic back pocket Wayne Harmes.

Inspired by Harmes’ tenacity, the dominance of Mike Fitzpatrick in the ruck, and the hard-running of Johnson and wingman Peter Francis, Carlton fought their way back into the game to lead by four points midway through the last quarter. It was then, just as Jesaulenko was carried off with a broken ankle, that Harmes’ brilliant chase, dive and swipe at the ball in a forward pocket provided an opportunist goal for rover Ken Sheldon. Desperately tired, yet inspired, Carlton hung on to win by five points. Harmes won the Norm Smith medal, and Wayne Johnston celebrated a Premiership in his debut season.

Unfortunately, the euphoria surrounding that 12th flag for the Blues lasted only a matter of weeks. In October of 1979, the club was plunged into turmoil by a boardroom revolt that resulted in club President George Harris being voted out of office at an extraordinary general meeting of members. Harris’ strongest ally; Alex Jesaulenko left too, forcing the club into a snap decision to appoint recently-retired Premiership ruckman Peter ‘Percy’ Jones as our new senior coach.

‘Percy’ took the talent-laden Blues to second place on the ladder, before successive finals losses by big margins brought a shocking end to Carlton’s season. Jones was promptly shifted sideways to the match committee, and replaced by 1976 Hawthorn Premiership coach David Parkin. Meanwhile, Johnston was coming off an impressive second year. He had rarely missed a game, and finished up as Carlton’s top scorer for the season with 51 goals.

The Johnston-Parkin era got off to a delayed start in 1981. Injury kept Johnno on the sidelines until early June, and he was still not back to peak fitness by the time the home and away rounds concluded with the Blueboys as minor Premiers yet again. Carlton then thumped Geelong by 40 points in the second Semi-Final (with flankers Johnston and Peter Bosustow each contributing three goals) and booked another Grand Final showdown against Collingwood.

This time, the MCG surface was firm and dry when the central umpire bounced the ball in front of another packed house on Grand Final day. In typical fashion, both sides attacked the ball-carrier ferociously in the opening exchanges – one of which saw Johnston steamrolled by magpie Rene Kink. It took Johnno some time to recover from that big hit, but when he gathered the ball off the pack and his long bomb bounced through in the second term, he made sure Kink was the first to know about it. Never slow to dish it out, Johnno also broke the jaw of his tagger, Graeme Allen, in an off the ball incident.

Rain began falling at half time. From then on, with captain Mike Fitzpatrick controlling the ruck, and defenders Bruce Doull and Ken Hunter holding sway across half-back, the Blues steadily wore Collingwood down. Nine points adrift at the last change, Collingwood had nothing left in the tank, and only Carlton’s inaccuracy kept the final margin to 20 points. Bruce Doull was a worthy Norm Smith Medallist, as Princes Park erupted in celebration of our thirteenth VFL flag.

Sometime during the following weeks – details are sketchy as to the exact date – a moment occurred that led to one of the most apt football nicknames of all being bestowed on Wayne Johnston. Late one evening at a popular inner-city nightclub, a group of Carlton senior players came upon him, sitting at a table with no less than four attractive young women. ‘Having a good night, Johnno?’ someone asked. Looking up with a huge smile on his face, Wayne replied; ‘Boys, I’m dominating here.’ From that night on, he became The Dominator – on and off the field.

By coincidence, Johnston hit his straps in 1982, living up to his nickname and helping to drive the Blues into yet another finals campaign. Carlton wound up third on the ladder, and began the defence of their Premiership title with an electrifying first Qualifying Final victory over Hawthorn. Just five points up at half time in a tight contest, the Blues smashed the Hawks with a devastating burst of eight goals after the 20-minute mark of the third quarter, and won easing up by 58 points.

The only drawbacks to that great win were the reports and subsequent suspension of Peter Bosustow (for 1 week) and Johnston (2 weeks). This meant that if Carlton was to beat minor Premiers Richmond in the following week’s Semi-Final, Johnston would be ineligible for the Grand Final. However, that was not to be. Richmond had devised a means of slowing down Carlton’s run-on game, by scragging, blocking and holding on to the Blues’ playmakers. They gave away numerous 15-metre penalties, and it wasn’t great to watch, but their method worked. They beat Carlton by four goals, and sat back to watch while Carlton and Hawthorn met in another do-or-die Preliminary Final.

In that third tough elimination match in succession, Carlton bounced back to conquer Hawthorn once more, thanks in no small part to the heroic effort of stand-in full back Rod Austin. He was knocked cold in the first five minutes, but ‘Curly’ recovered to blanket Hawthorn’s spearhead Leigh Matthews for the rest of the match. Carlton won by five goals, and earned another crack at the Tigers for the ’82 flag. Tragically, Austin came out of the game injured was and ruled out of the decider, but Johnston proved he was fit and ready to return.

Even before the first bounce of the ball on Grand Final day, the mind games began when Carlton coach David Parkin sent 22 men (two more than allowed at the time) out onto the field. All of them stayed on the ground throughout the pre-game ceremonies, and it wasn’t until the teams were making their way to their positions that Frank Marchesani and David Clarke disappeared up the race – leaving Johnston and Jim Buckley in their places.

Johnston was just sensational in those early hectic minutes. First, Mark Maclure gathered the ball off the pack, and dished off to Johnno who ran into an open goal for the perfect start to the Blues. A minute later, Johnston’s fierce tackle on Richmond’s Alan Martello caused the ball to spill to Harmes, who slotted through Carlton’s second from a tight angle. And when Rod Ashman added a third major from a free kick, the Blues were 19 points up.

Just then, a fierce hailstorm swept across the ground, and an all-in brawl erupted on the outer wing. Richmond’s Jimmy Jess crashed into Ken Hunter and knocked him senseless, and Martello ended Carlton spearhead Ross Ditchburn’s day with an accidental kick to the back of the head. Johnston took the resulting free kick to boot his second goal for the term, but at quarter time the margin was back to four points and Carlton was two men down.

Those injuries, and the constant rain, forced Parkin to reshape his team. He sent defender Robbert Klomp to full-forward, called Bosustow off the bench onto a forward flank, and gave Johnston the tough task of quelling Richmond’s dangerous centreman Geoff Raines. From then on, although erratic in front of goal, the Blues gradually asserted their authority – despite the distraction of a female streaker who ran on to the ground midway through the third term.

An impregnable defence and a winning ruck were the keys to surely one of the Carlton Football Club’s greatest victories. Val Perovic, Bruce Doull, Wayne Harmes and Ken Hunter (who bravely returned to the fray during the second quarter) were all superb down back, while ‘Wow’ Jones and Mike Fitzpatrick held sway around the stoppages. But in the eyes of most observers, the most influential player on the field was Wayne Johnston. The Dominator made his name on that memorable afternoon, by cutting Raines right out of the match, and posing a constant threat himself to the Tiger defenders. With an ounce of luck he would have kicked five goals, and there wasn’t a Bluebagger watching on who wasn’t gobsmacked when Johnno missed out on the Norm Smith Medal. That honour going instead to Richmond’s Maurice Rioli.

Carlton began a period of constant success over Richmond from then on; thrashing the Tigers by ten goals in round one of 1983, and following up with another emphatic victory over them in the Grand Final of the Sterling Cup – a knockout competition held at Waverley Park on Tuesday nights during the regular season. Johnston captained the victorious Blues on that cold night in July, and caused a lot of mirth when he made his televised victory speech with his mouthguard still in place!

But after that minor triumph, Carlton’s inconsistency – we managed four wins and four losses with margins of 50 points or more in 1983 – condemned the Blues to a fifth-place finish, and a 33-point Elimination Final defeat by Essendon. Carlton’s brave attempt at three flags in a row had failed, but at least there was some consolation for the Dominator a few weeks later, when he was a deserving winner of his first club Best & Fairest award.

Mike Fitzpatrick retired after the 1983 season, and Johnston knocked back a big offer from Collingwood to take on the role of the Blues’ next captain. He held the post for two years while Carlton continued as a regular finals contender, but couldn’t progress past the Semi-Finals. In 1986 he relinquished leadership of the team to Mark Maclure, just as Carlton announced an agreement to swap coaches with Fitzroy. After five seasons and two flags with the Blues, David Parkin went to Brunswick St, and three-time Carlton Premiership player Robert Walls returned to Princes Park to take the reins of a team very much still in flag contention.

With his playing list strengthened by the likes of Craig Bradley, Stephen Kernahan, Peter Motley, Mil Hanna, Jon Dorotich and others, Walls took the Blues into yet another Grand Final in his debut year, only to run into a committed Hawthorn team that struck back from its Second Semi-Final defeat by the Blues in the best possible way. With their full-forward Jason Dunstall rampant, the spirited Hawks triumphed by 42 points. A fortnight later, Johnston won his second club Best and Fairest in a tie with star South Australian recruit Craig Bradley.

Happily for Carlton, revenge on the Hawks wasn’t long in coming. Under new captain Stephen Kernahan, the Blues marched into the 1987 finals on top of the ladder, and firmed into Premiership favouritism with another 15-point second Semi-Final win over the gang from Glenferrie. When Hawthorn beat Melbourne (with a goal after the siren) in the Preliminary Final, it set up a rematch of the previous years’ flag decider.

Construction works at the MCG restricted the ’87 Grand Final crowd to just under 93,000, on a day that saw the temperature soar past 30 degrees. Even before the first bounce, those fans were treated to yet another sensational opening quarter from the Dominator. Ruck-roving to Justin Madden, he was given a free kick when he pointed out to the umpires that Hawthorn had too many men inside the centre square. A minute later, he goaled from a free kick, then was reported for high contact when he crashed through Hawthorn’s rugged wingman, Robert DiPierdomenico. Next, he ran onto a spillage at half-forward and launched a long bomb that sailed through for his second goal – giving the Blues some real momentum. Hawthorn fought their way back into contention at half time, but the fresher, fitter Blues handled the tough conditions better after that, and ran out 33-point winners. Carlton’s centre half-back David Rhys-Jones won the Norm Smith Medal, and Wayne Johnston joined a select group of four-time Premiership players for the Blues.

The Carlton-Hawthorn rivalry continued into 1988. Hawthorn were minor Premiers, ahead of Collingwood, Carlton, West Coast and Melbourne. In the first week of the business end of the season, Carlton thrashed Collingwood in the Qualifying Final at the MCG. Playing in the centre, Johnston beat three opponents and was clearly Best on Ground.

Next up, the Blues faced Hawthorn in the second semi on a wet and windy day at Waverley – and Wayne Johnston’s finals campaign ended with a massive hit from Hawthorn’s Gary Ayres. Johnno left the field with three broken ribs, and the Hawks ran out winners by 21 points. Without their Dominator, the Blues suffered a shock loss to Melbourne in the following week’s Preliminary Final, ending the year in bitter disappointment.

Although there were ongoing concerns about his fitness, Johnston saddled up for his eleventh season in 1989. Carlton began the year with successive losses to Footscray and St Kilda, before making the trek down the Western Highway to Geelong in mid-April. Early in that match, Johnston was lined up and ironed out again – this time, by Gary Ablett. His ribcage suffered further damage, and he missed another five weeks.

Johnno didn’t make it back until the round eight match against Collingwood, at Waverley in late May. Heavily strapped and playing in defence, he bolstered a team that obviously lacked passion, and lost by five goals. By June, Carlton’s committee had lost confidence in Robert Walls, and sacked him halfway through his third year. Alex Jesaulenko then stepped back into the coaching role he had vacated a decade earlier. In mid-July, Johnston succumbed to his injuries, and didn’t play a senior match again that year.

The Dominator soldiered on into 1990, but by mid-season it was obvious that age and wear had taken their toll on his battered body. Eventually, Carlton’s match committee took the unenviable step of telling him that his time was up, and one of the great Navy Blue careers ended in round 18 at the Western Oval in August. Carlton handed the Bulldogs a 31-point defeat that day, in an appropriate farewell to a champion. Simon Minton-Connell starred for the Blues with eight goals, while Johnno showed flashes of his class and was named among his team’s best players one last time.

Often described as Carlton’s greatest-ever finals performer, Wayne Johnston collected even more accolades in the years after his retirement. Following on from his four Premierships as a player, two Best and Fairest awards and two seasons as captain of the Blues, he represented Victoria three times in interstate matches, and was an All Australian in 1987.

He was elected to the Carlton Hall of Fame in 1991. At the end of the decade, he was selected on a half-forward flank in Carlton’s Team of the Century, and is one of an elite group of just ten great players so far named as Legends of the Carlton Football Club. Perhaps his career was summed up best by David Parkin, who once said of the Dominator;

‘‘He had an enormous capacity to pump himself up and get the best out of himself when it mattered. He had a fire in his belly – a passion for the contest like few other players’‘

Post AFL, Johnston had stints as captain-coach with SANFL club Sturt, then Sebastapol in the Ballarat League. In 1993, he was lured to the Brisbane club Kedron-Grange, where his great mate Jim Buckley was working part-time as the football manager. At the time, the Redlegs were under the direction of another former Blue in Neil Gaghan, who ended up resigning three weeks into the season due to work commitments. Johnston stepped up for one last season as playing-coach, before retiring for good when he was told that the back problems he had been carrying for years required extensive surgery.

Milestones

100 games : Round 2, 1984 vs Fitzroy
150 games : Round 21, 1986 vs Footscray
200 games : Round 14, 1989 vs Essendon

100 goals : Round 19, 1981 vs South Melbourne
200 goals : Round 15, 1984 vs Collingwood

Career Highlights

1979 – 8th Best & Fairest
1979 – Premiership Player
1980 – 8th Best & Fairest
1981 – Premiership Player
1982 – 4th Best & Fairest (on countback)
1982 – Premiership Player
1983 – Robert Reynolds Memorial Trophy: Best & Fairest Award
1983 – Night Premiership Player and Captain
1984 – 5th Best & Fairest
1986 – Equal Robert Reynolds Memorial Trophy: Best & Fairest Award
1987 – 2nd Best & Fairest
1987 – Best Clubman Award
1987 – Premiership Player
1988 – 3rd Best & Fairest

Career: 1962 – 1963
Debut: Round 1, 1962 v Geelong, aged 24 years, 144 days
Carlton Player No. 744
Games: 24
Goals: 33
Last game: Round 10, 1963 v Melbourne, aged 25 year, 213 days
Guernsey No. 36
Height: 169cm
Weight: 60kg
DOB: 28 November, 1937

Recruited by the Blues from Geelong, where he played 20 games in two seasons including his debut against his old team, Falconer was one of the smallest players ever to pull on a Carlton guernsey.

A nippy, diminutive rover who was a deadly snapshot at goal, he polled 11 Brownlow Medal votes in his first 14 games, and played in Carlton’s 1962 Grand Final loss to Essendon. But his form tapered in his second year, and he managed just ten more appearances before he was delisted.

Falconer was recruited by Geelong from Geelong Amateurs, he also had a stint with Seaford.

The Canberra Times September 21 1962, said of Peter Falconer that he is “the lightest man in the League.” (60kg – 9st 4lb)

Career : 1966 – 1971
Debut : Round 9, 1966 vs Hawthorn, aged 18 years, 222 days
Carlton Player No. 785
Games : 19
Goals : 35
Last Game : Round 13, 1971 vs Essendon, aged 23 years, 230 days
Guernsey No.14
Height : 183 cm ( 6 ft. 0 in.)
Weight : 93 kg ( 14 stone, 9 lbs.)
DOB : November 8, 1947

The son of dual Carlton Premiership ruckman Rod McLean, Roderick “Ricky” McLean took after his father in that he played his football for keeps. A specialist full-forward who was six feet tall and built like the proverbial brick outhouse, McLean charged like a rhinoceros on the lead, and heaven help any friend or foe in his path. He was strong in the air, a generally reliable left-foot kick for goal, and loved nothing more than to intimidate his opponents. But as a consequence, he often ran foul of the umpires, and was suspended for a total of 30 matches during his career.

Coming to Princes Park in 1966 from Moonee Imperials, McLean wore guernsey number 14 for six seasons on Carlton’s senior list, yet managed only 19 senior matches in a stay limited by ankle and hamstring injuries, regular suspensions, and the presence of two other quality full-forwards in Brian Kekovich and Alex Jesaulenko. Although he played his best game for the Blues and booted 7 goals in his second-last match, he requested a clearance at the end of 1971 and joined Richmond the following year.

At Tigerland, McLean found ready acceptance, going on to play another 39 games and boot 103 goals. In the 1972 Carlton-Richmond Grand Final, McLean lined up at full-forward for the Tigers, but strained a hamstring running down the player’s race. He stayed on the ground, kicked two early goals, then tore the tendon again and was off the ground by half-time.

After finishing at Richmond, McLean took his VFL experience back to grassroots football and coached VFA club Sunshine. In 1977, he mentored Ascot Vale on Saturdays, then flew to Queensland to play in the State League on a Sunday. He also coached Riddell District club Sunbury in 1986.

Ricky’s talented nephew; Brock McLean, had played 94 games for Melbourne before he crossed to Carlton in a high-profile trade prior to the 2010 season. Brock wore guernsey number 7 in his injury-marred first year with the Blues, but swapped to number 14 in 2011 in honour of his uncle and grandfather.