The First Spirit of Carlton Past and Present Past Players Dinner

On Wednesday night about 40 past players and officials gathered at Visy Park in what was a wonderful social occasion. In the past, regular social gatherings by past players were commonplace. Unfortunately due to various factors these regular past player only events began to disappear from the social calendar.

This year we are attempting to revive the tradition and started off with the first Past Players dinner.

It was a real pleasure to see so many happy faces and the camaraderie amongst old friends. The schedule for the night was delayed somewhat because everyone was enjoying the chance to catch up and chat.

Several generations of players were represented on the night; past players from the 1940s all the way through to the 1990s were present.  Players such as Doug Beasy, Allan Greenshields, Paul Hurst, Ron Barassi, Vin Cattoggio, Ron De Iulio, Serge Silvagni, Ian Aitken, Ron Barassi, and Adrian Gallagher just to name a few. It was wonderful to see past officials of the club such as Kenny Kleiman and Frank Brosnan also in attendance.

MC for the night Dennis Munari gave the audience some information about the history of the past players association at Carlton and how the Spirit of Carlton Past and Present was trying to re-awaken the spirit around the club by providing social occasions to get the past players together again on a regular basis.

Rod Austin gave an informative talk about the current issues in the AFL related to the collective bargaining agreement, free-agency, and the draft and trading period.

Robert Walls gave the keynote speech of the night which was a passionate retelling of the story of his entire involvement with the club from a 15 year old to a premiership coach.

All in all we hope this was the start of something special that will grow from here. The approximately 40 players in attendance represent about 10% of the current population of past players. Next year we are hoping for many more to attend. So if there are any past players or officials out there that are reading this and are interested in future events please contact us at admin@spiritofcarlton.com to confirm if we have your contact details.

The Darwin Report

By Bernie Shackcloth

 The Spirit Of Carlton’s inaugural Darwin Luncheon was held at Kantilla’s Room at TIO Stadium on Friday 27 May. While the ‘81 & ‘82 premierships played on the big screen the 40 or so guests were greeted by Carlton greats GS, SJ, AM & VP on arrival.

As MC, Geoff Southby started by telling everyone about the history of SOC and what it had achieved already. Geoff related the story of how Malcolm Fraser became the No 1 ticket holder & assisted the Match Committee. Syd Jackson told us about his personal journey from the WA outback as a child to playing in front of 121,696 people at MCG in 1970. He talked about how the racial abuse from opposition supporters inspired him & his involvement with current indigenous Carlton players. Val Perovic offered an insight into the club when he arrived following the turbulent 1980 off-season. Alex Marcou had everyone in stitches with his fabulous story about visiting The Lodge following the 1981 & 1982 Grand Finals.

Geoff Southby MC’d a Q&A Panel, guests asked questions from the floor which ranged from “who was your toughest opponent?” to “ How do you get Val Perovic to tell a short story?”

The afternoon was finished with Val as Auctioneer, where every item was purchased by the enthusiastic crowd.  

Many guest then regrouped afterwards to cheer on the Blues to victory at Wisdom Bar in Mitchell Street.

All those privileged to attend are hoping this will be the first of many SOC visits to the Top End. Go Blues.  

CLICK HERE to see pictures from the event.

Thank You Darwin

The Spirit of Carlton Past and present would like to thank all those who attended our function in Darwin last week. We were thrilled to see so many passionate Carlton supporters up in the top end. Special thank you to Bernie Shackcloth for doing such a marvellous job in organising the event. Val Perovic, Alex Marcou, Syd Jackson and Geoff Southby all enjoyed the event and the hospitality of the locals.

Tickets for Round Nine Against the Cats

Tickets for Round 9 20/5 Carlton V Geelong match at Etihad Stadium, are being sold early and will be on sale as of now. The cost is $50.00  per ticket which includes entry to the ground and reserved seat, and finger food in the Spirit of Carlton room. Tickets will be sold on a first in best dressed basis. To book tickets call Justine on 0438271948,  between the hours of 9am-5pm.