One of the great ironies of following a sport such as Australian Rules appears just as your club releases someone from their list - be it through trading or delisting. The irony comes from the instantaneous change of hope from "I hope he plays 200 games for Carlton" to "I hope this doesn't come back to bite us". But as history tells us, there will always be the player who indeed bites us on the proverbial; either in a return match-up where he might play a blinder, or through a strong career in new colours (or both). So whilst we at the Blueseum encourage Carlton fans to celebrate Premiership players, 'converts' from other clubs to Carlton players and indeed anyone in Navy Blue, there is a long list of 'Fish that got away' that need to be recognised in our Carlton historical museum....

cfhdl004-059_dougherty.jpg 1. Clen Denning; 18 Carlton Games; 159 Fitzroy games including the 1944 Premiership
The 'Man who kicked 6 on debut' would be pushed out of a strong Carlton team before starring with Fitzroy.

2. George Dougherty; 17 Carlton Games; 156 games at Geelong, Footscray and South Melbourne including the 1937 Premiership (Geelong)
Dougherty began his senior career with Carlton in 1934, but could manage just 17 games in two and a half years. Part way through the 1936 season he was cleared to Geelong, where he blossomed into one of the outstanding players of the competition. In his second season with the Cats, he was a vital part of their 1937 Premiership team.

3. Chris Bond; 22 Carlton Games; 141 games at Richmond and Fremantle; Also Captain at Fremantle
After 22 games with Carlton, Bond would find his way to Richmond from 1993 to 1997, before he made the back page news for being traded to the fledgling Fremantle Dockers for Pick 2. Bond would later captain the Dockers.
tcsun001-019_casey.jpg
4. Gordon Casey; 1 Carlton Game; 125 Footscray games and played for Victoria
Casey came to Carlton in 1968 from the tiny Mallee township of Speed in north-western Victoria, and after just one game for Carlton in 1968 was cleared to Footscray. Whilst at the Blues, he was the leading goalkicker in the Reserves for the 1967 and 1968 seasons.
At the Western Oval, Casey found his niche as a tenacious specialist back pocket, and in a fine career, played 125 games for the Bulldogs. He represented Victoria, and later served on Footscray's coaching panel.

5. Brent Crosswell; 98 Carlton Games; 124 games at North Melbourne and Melbourne, including 2 Premierships at North Melbourne
Brent ‘Tiger’ Crosswell was a brilliant, yet enigmatic star at Carlton during the Barassi era. A brash, flamboyant individual capable of winning a game off his own boot with quarter or two of inspirational play, Crosswell was a dual Premiership player for the Blues who later followed his coach Ron Barassi to North Melbourne, and won another two flags.

6. Jim Martin; 6 Carlton Games; 122 games at Essendon and Fitzroy including a Premiership at Essendon (1912) and another at Fitzroy (1913)
'Bull' Martin played 6 games for Carlton in 1902 but found himself at Essendon, playing against us in the 1908 Grand Final. His luck would change and he would earn consecutive Premierships at different clubs over 1912-1913.
1985 Rd 9 - Peter Rohde & Val Perovic.
7. Peter Rohde; 46 Carlton Games; 117 games at Melbourne
Rohde was a handy player for the Blues before being cleared to Melbourne, where a change in roles to full-back saw him emerge as a top quality AFL player.

8. Aaron Hamill; 92 Carlton Games; 98 games at St Kilda
'The Heartbreak Kid' took a while to get going at Carlton, but enjoyed a fantastic season 2000 in a tag-team forward setup with Lance Whitnall. He stunned the football world, and Carlton fans the world over, by moving to St Kilda the year after.
Pic: Football Record.
9. Simon Minton-Connell; 19 Carlton Games; 93 games at Sydney, Hawthorn and Footscray
The young Tasmanian enjoyed some great moments in a short period of time at Carlton, with 50 goals from 19 matches, before being traded out in order for Carlton to secure Greg Williams. A good career followed at three other clubs.

10. Andrew Leoncelli; Nil Carlton Games; 146 games at Melbourne
Leoncelli was listed at Carlton but didn't last too long, before being picked up by Melbourne and becoming a midfield leader.
1994 - Ben Harrison.
11. Ben Harrison; 2 Carlton Games; 159 games at Richmond and Footscray
Swapped out after our successful 1995 campaign for Justin Murphy, Harrison demonstrated his football wares across defence and by occasionally kicking goals - particularly against us - for Richmond and the Bulldogs.

12. Kris Massie; 43 Carlton Games; 88 Adelaide games
A top draft pick at Carlton, the trading of Massie after a few injury-curtailed seasons was just another example of the loss of leadership at Carlton in the early 2000's. Massie went on to play some good football for Adelaide.

Others to have left Carlton and played in a Premiership are:

- Troy Bond - 36 games at Carlton, 58 at Adelaide
- Frank Caine - 80 Carlton games, 22 at Essendon
- Denis Kelleher - 54 Carlton games, 59 at South Melbourne
- Justin McCarthy - 3 Carlton games, 56 Essendon

Those with a keen historical eye will notice that certain players have been set aside from the above list, for those that have left the Carlton Football Club and 'turned left for the Carringbush' are, unfortunately for us, worth their own special listing....



Collingwood. Collingwood. Collingwood. Yes, we all know that we've beaten them in 5 Grand Finals; 5 of 6 no less! But we also know they're the reigning Premiers, have the worst - and seemingly most fertile - fans, and that they are just behind us for overall Premiership success. But there's something else that is little known outside of Carlton historical circles. For Carlton keeps feeding the Collingwood empire with charity, and champion players, most from our own crop, and right from out of our own hands. Collingwood, successful yes; but how much is due to our recruiting! We decided to look at some notable examples, stretching right back to the Pre-VFL days...
Billy Strickland.jpg
William 'Billy' Strickland; Collingwood's first VFL captain, but Carlton VFA star
Billy Strickland is revered by Collingwood as their first VFA Premiership captain in 1896, and their inaugural VFL captain in 1897 – but he had already been playing football with Carlton for more than a decade when he joined the Woods in 1893.

Disciplined and determined, he was a born leader, and his loss to Carlton was perhaps best summed up by the following paragraph from the Argus newspaper of October 5, 1896;

'Old members of the Carlton club present must have realised what a stupendous mistake they made when the team took sides some years ago on the question of captaincy, and rejected Strickland in favour of another 'man, who, though a fine player, never once showed the least talent for leadership.

Strickland was also Collingwood's first VFL coach in 1904.

Harry Curtis; 2 Carlton games; 121 Collingwood games including 2 Premierships
After playing two games for Carlton in 1913, only to cop criticism for his wayward kicking, Harry Curtis went to Collingwood the following season to prove the Blues wrong. In 122 matches for the Magpies, he became one of the outstanding centre half-forwards of his era, and formed a potent combination with Dick Lee in their 1917 and 1919 Premiership teams.

Curtis retired from the field in 1924, and was elected President of Collingwood soon after. He served an unbroken term of 27 years, during which the Pies won another six flags.

Harold Rumney; 15 Carlton games; 171 Collingwood games including 5 Premierships
Rumney left Princes Park in 1926 after playing 15 matches for the Blues over two seasons, his departure apparently sparked by a blow-up with his new captain-coach Ray Brew over Rumney’s inclination to back himself and take opponents on.
He made his debut for Collingwood in the first round of 1927, and thereafter was only dropped through injury. Nicknamed ‘Dasher’ for his blistering pace, he spent his first full season at Collingwood as a forward, before his coach Jock McHale sent him back into defence, where he was equally effective as a half-back flanker or back pocket.
Between 1927 and 1930, Rumney played in four successive Collingwood Premiership teams. In 1931 he won Collingwood’s Best and Fairest award, and by 1932 had represented Victoria ten times in interstate matches. His career peaked in 1935, when the Magpies beat South Melbourne on Grand Final day to give Harry his fifth Premiership in the black and white.

Ted Baker; 1 Carlton game; 141 games at Collingwood, Geelong and Footscray; Premiership captain at Geelong in 1931
Edward Richard (Ted) Baker played the first of his 142 VFL matches on a fine Saturday afternoon in July, 1920, when he ran out on to the Junction Oval as second rover for Carlton against St Kilda. Recruited from Wonthaggi, Baker was a quick and skilful terrier of a player, but he left Princes Park soon after in unexplained circumstances.
1977 Footy Card - Ray Byrne.
Two years after that one appearance for the Blues, Baker bobbed up at Collingwood and stayed two seasons, however it wasn’t until he joined Geelong in 1927 that his career really took off. In 95 matches for the Pivotonians, Baker blossomed into a star rover renowned for his accurate left-foot stab passing. He became a regular Victorian state representative, and captained Geelong to the 1931 Premiership.
In 1932 he left Geelong to rejoin Collingwood, before he finished off his nomadic football journey with three games for Footscray in 1934. All up, Ted played VFL football for ten seasons, in a career spanning 14 years.

Ray Byrne; 81 Carlton Games; 138 games at Geelong and Collingwood
Ray Byrne was recruited by the Blues at the age of 19 from Golden Square, in Carlton's rich Bendigo League zone. He was given guernsey number 26 and soon proved to be a popular clubman and a creative half-back. At 181 cm and 80 kg, he was equally at home on the last line of defence, where he played in Carlton's 1973 Grand Final loss to Richmond.
1975 - Craig Davis (Scanlen's Footy Card).
After 81 games and 13 goals for Carlton in six seasons, he cleared to Collingwood, where he quickly established himself in their lineup. He went on to play 121 games and boot 10 goals in black and white, including three consecutive losing Grand Finals; to Carlton in 1979, Richmond in 1980 and Carlton again in '81. In 1984, Byrne felt his time was up at Collingwood and asked for a clearance to Geelong. The 'Pies concurred and, at the age of 32, Ray played another 17 games with the Cats, before finally calling it quits after an impressive career.

Craig Davis; 42 Carlton games; 121 games at North Melbourne, Collingwood and Sydney
Beginning his fine VFL career at Carlton, Craig Davis (a cousin of Carlton legend Brent Crosswell) went on to play at three other clubs. A slightly built, yet skilful and strong-marking full-forward, he was on the losing side in finals with Carlton, North Melbourne and Collingwood, before making a return to senior football with Sydney at the age of 33.

In 1976, Davis suffered a serious head injury in a pre-season practice match, when an opponent’s knee collected him from behind in a marking contest. Fearing further complications, Carlton’s doctors insisted that his career was over, and the club delisted him after the season. He had played 42 games in Navy Blue, and kicked 75 goals.

Convinced that the medicos were wrong, and that he still had plenty to offer, Davis joined North Melbourne in 1977 and played 10 games for 20 goals in two seasons. Then in 1979 he crossed to Collingwood, where his career re-ignited. He went on to play a further 102 games for the Magpies (including the 1979 Grand Final loss to Carlton).

Others to have left Carlton and played in a Premiership for Collingwood include:

Jim Crowe - 83 Carlton games, 21 Collingwood
Determined and versatile, Jim Crowe was a regular finals player throughout his six years at Princes Park from 1929 to 1934. Originally regarded as a goal-kicking rover, he later became a creative back pocket, and formed a notable combination with Carlton’s star full-back Frank Gill. But at the peak of his career, Crowe walked from Princes Park after an apparent dispute over his role in the team, and two years later, played in a Premiership side for Collingwood. He then served his country in World War II, before spending one season as coach of Footscray.

Harry Sullivan - 31 Carlton games, 78 at Collingwood
Harry Sullivan joined Carlton from Brighton Technical School in 1949 at the age of 17, and played in our Under 19 Premiership side in that same year. He was selected for his senior debut in round 18, 1950, when Carlton finished off a dismal year by losing to South Melbourne by almost six goals at Princes Park. Four years later, after 31 senior games, he was granted a clearance to Collingwood.

His first season at Victoria Park was much like those that came before; 10 games, 5 goals and regular demotion to the seconds. Then, in early 1956, someone had the bright idea of trying Harry at full-back, and a star was born.

In September 1956, Sullivan was at full-back for the ‘Pies in their Grand Final loss to Melbourne, and there again when they defeated the Demons two years later to deny Melbourne four flags in a row. Cool under pressure, and renowned for his ability to punch the ball from his opponent’s grasp at precisely the right moment, Harry also represented Victoria in 1958, on the way to 78 games and immortality among the Collingwood legions.


Carlton and Collingwood share a fascinating history, but this little known 'talent sharing' receives no publicity and even less thanks. Then again, maybe it is better that way!

Blueseum: Despised to Blue - Recruited for playing well against us!