I was a bit nervy when the invite came in the mail because if it was at Crown, I wouldn’t be able to go!

But much to my delight it’s at the Hilton and I can’t wait to catch up with everyone from our great club.

In the spirit of things, I’ve decided to pick my own greatest Carlton side of all-time.

Obviously I haven’t seen everyone play for the club but being around the place for 10 years you soon find out who the big names are.

I’ve based a lot of my selections on the Team of the Century the Blues picked a few years ago now but added the best of the best I played with.

BACK POCKET

GEOFF SOUTHBY

A SUPERSTAR of the club who ticks every box when it comes to both personal and team success. One of the best full backs the game has seen, let alone Carlton.

FULL BACK

STEPHEN SILVAGNI

PRETTY obvious that ‘SOS’ gets in. I was lucky enough to play with him and I learned a lot. He played on the best forwards the game has ever seen.

BACK POCKET

ANDREW McKAY

I RECKON Andy is underrated outside the club but everyone at Carlton loves him. He did his job every week and was one of the first picked. Was All Australian in his first season and made it another three times.

HALF BACK

BRUCE DOULL

ANYONE who has a nude girl run onto the field after them must have something going for them. But seriously, everyone knows how great he was even though he barely ever speaks. One of the club’s greats. Won four B&Fs, four flags and is in the AFL Team of the Century. 

CENTRE HALF BACK

BERT DEACON

CARLTON’S first ever Brownlow winner.

He’s a pretty big name around the club and that is enough for me.

HALF BACK

JOHN JAMES

WON three best and fairests and a Brownlow.

Played almost 200 games for the mighty Blues and is in the Team of the Century.

WING

CRAIG BRADLEY

HE was the ultimate pro and I can’t think of anyone who’s played more footy because of their fitness. He played 375 games for the Blues after almost 100 SANFL games beforehand. He really led from the front on the ground.

CENTRE

GREG WILLIAMS

ONE of the best players of all-time, if you ask me. He should have won three Brownlows and racked up his 40 touches every week, punched on and was great to watch. He put bums on seats.

WING

ANTHONY KOUTOUFIDES

KOUTA re-invented the game, which is something few players can say about themselves.

Got into the Hall of Fame recently and did a heap for the club.

HALF FORWARD FLANK

WAYNE JOHNSTON

YOU don’t get called the Dominator for no reason. He was a finals specialist and easily Carlton’s best ever finals player. That’s when you want to play your best footy, so he gets in on that alone.

CENTRE HALF FORWARD

STEPHEN KERNAHAN

CARLTON’S best ever player. The Blues’ longest serving captain and all-time leading goalkicker.

That’s why got rid of me, I reckon, because I would have passed him. 

HALF FORWARD FLANK

ALEX JESAULENKO

THE second best player to wear No.25 at Carlton. Just kidding. He was a gun and his mark was so good it still gets played. His achievement list is pretty long and not many can match it.

FORWARD POCKET

KEN HANDS

WON flags, a best and fairest, captained the club, captained Victoria and coached the Blues. Not bad, is it?

FULL FORWARD

HARRY VALLENCE

KICKED 722 snags. Being a full-forward, I always looked at his name on the boards at the club. I’m proud to be up there with him.

FORWARD POCKET

HORRIE CLOVER 

I’M pretty sure he did everything at the club.

Played, coached, president, secretary and the rest. Kicked almost 400 goals in less than 150 games.

RUCK

JOHN NICHOLLS

YOU don’t get the best and fairest named after you if you can’t play. He won five of them and is one of game’s greats.

RUCK ROVER

CHRIS JUDD

CRAZY to think Juddy is the same height as big John. Already played over 100 games for the Blues and won three best and fairests and a Brownlow. Only five players have ever won a Brownlow at the Blues.

ROVER

SERGE SILVAGNI

HAD an awesome career himself and then gave the club SOS on top of that. He’s another name you always hear about when you play at the club, which says something.

KEN HUNTER

THEY reckon he was the toughest player ever to play. It’s funny, because he is the nicest guy.

He won flags, a best and fairest and even won the club goalkicking one year. Only good players do that!

BRETT RATTEN

RATTS is another guy who ticks every box.

Captain, coach, premiership player and played more than 250 games. But he had to wait a long time for Bradles to retire so he could be captain.

JUSTIN MADDEN

ONE of the best big guys to play. You hear a lot of funny stories about him. He has a pretty famous saying around the club that “you never run a time you can’t beat”. 

SCOTT CAMPOREALE 

CAMPO was one of the best guys I played with.

His footskills were awesome and he didn’t play many bad games. Played over 200 games for the Blues, won a best and fairest, premiership and made All Australian.

DAVID PARKIN

HE was my first coach. I remember him telling me I had two options, go back to school for year 12 or you don’t play footy. It’s fair to say I was going back to school. He was a great motivator and won three flags as coach.