Round 24 teams: Storm lose Ryan Papenhuyzen for grand final rematch as Broncos lock in their new halves
Papenhuyzen recently missed a month with a calf strain but was outstanding in last week's win over the Broncos, with Nick Meaney shifting from right centre to replace him at the back.
The 2020 Clive Churchill Medal winner was enormous for the Storm in that grand final, with Melbourne's top-two hopes set to take a huge hit if they lose on Thursday.
Melbourne's backline crisis opens the door for Marion Seve to play just his third match in the past two seasons, with the centre fresh from scoring a hat-trick for North Sydney earlier this month.
They face an unchanged Panthers side, with coach Ivan Cleary confident that co-captain Isaah Yeo will return from a shoulder injury before the finals.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire has turned to Ben Hunt and Billy Walters to play in the halves with regular pairing Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam both nursing hamstring injuries after a freak chase last week.
Cory Paix gets the nod at hooker for the game against the Dolphins which has major finals implications.
There's mixed news for the Warriors as they try to keep in touch with the top four with Tanah Boyd brought back to replace Te Maire Martin, while they'll also be missing veteran Kurt Capewell (concussion) but they do get back Wayde Egan.
Egan Butcher has been rewarded for his good form and will start in the back row in place of Siua Wong (concussion protocols) against a Bulldogs side that could welcome back fullback Connor Tracey from injury.
The Sharks have lost strike centre Jesse Ramien (broken thumb) for the rest of the season, while back-rower Briton Nikora will miss three matches due to suspension.
That sees Mawene Hiroti get a crack at right centre while Billy Burns has been promoted to the starting side for a game against the Titans who have lost Brian Kelly and Alofiana Khan-Pereira but welcome back Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, Phil Sami and Mo Fotuaika.
Tom Trbojevic will remain at fullback even with Lehi Hopoate returning to the starting side for the clash against the Wests Tigers, while Jake Trbojevic won't play as he deals with his latest head knock.
And young gun Connor Votano will make his NRL debut at fullback, with veteran Dane Gagai returning to right centre for Newcastle's clash with the Cowboys who get Jordan McLean back from injury.
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Sydney Morning Herald
22 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Marcus in the middle: Saint's future uncertain as negotiations drag on
The Saints' aggressive efforts to land free agents have inflated the market, with their offers to Giants' defender Leek Aleer and De Koning well above market rates, and neither are they going die wondering in their attempt to attract West Coast's Harley Reid. The courting of players from other clubs has, according to three competition sources who want to remain anonymous, left senior players at the club with questions about the direction of the club's list management. Rowan Marshall and Callum Wilkie remains contracted until the end of 2027. Wilkie, who has now played 153 consecutive matches since his debut, is expected to remain at the club. But Marshall, who has been linked to Geelong, was less definitive about his future when he was asked a fortnight ago about De Koning's potential arrival. Big Roo to continue North Melbourne forward-ruck Callum Coleman-Jones is set to score a one-year deal to play on next season after another injury-interrupted season. The ex-Tiger, who was traded to the Roos in 2021, has shown promising glimpses at both clubs, but a series of setbacks, including a season-ending Achilles rupture last year and a calf injury early in his comeback game this season, have held him back. Coleman-Jones has a great opportunity at North, given their shortage of tall players, but will be desperate for an extended injury-free run after playing only 23 senior games in four seasons at Arden Street. The 26-year-old has kicked 20 goals in 32 matches in a career that started when he was the No.20 pick at the 2017 draft. Loading The Kangaroos handed over a 2022 second-round selection, pick 40, in 2021 and veteran defender Robbie Tarrant for Coleman-Jones, picks 42 and 47, plus a future fourth-round selection. The ruck market will be active this season even though one of the players who was attracting the most interest – Collingwood's Darcy Cameron is now off the table. Essendon free agent Sam Draper is weighing up offers from the Lions and Adelaide, while Hawthorn's Ned Reeves has attracted interested. Another ruckman who is out of contract and playing well in the WAFL is Fremantle's Liam Reidy, who has found it tough to break into the Dockers' line-up with Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy, two of the best big men in the competition. Melksham ponders call Melbourne forward Jake Melksham, to turn 34 this month, is poised to make the call on whether he extends his 246-game career into next season. Melksham's two goals in the Demons' narrow loss to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday increased his season tally to 31, just one off his personal best from his second year at Melbourne in 2018. He has a close relationship with Simon Goodwin, who parted ways with the Demons at the start of last week, from their shared time at Essendon. Melksham also has a young family, so will weigh all that up when making his call, but is still comfortably a first-choice player for Melbourne, and needs to play into next season to bring up 250 games, given the Demons are out of finals contention. A decision is unlikely to be made until after the Demons' campaign ends under caretaker coach Troy Chaplin. Tall Giant attracts interest Greater Western Sydney rebuked Melbourne's interest in 197-centimetre swingman Wade Derksen last year while he was still under contract, but the Demons are set to have competition for him this time. Darwin-born Derksen – the fifth pick in the 2022 mid-season draft out of WAFL club Peel Thunder – has not played a senior game for the Giants in more than three years on the list, and is out of contract at season's end. There are club recruiters who rate Derksen the best key-position player in the VFL, where he averaged 20 disposals and four intercept marks across 13 matches this year, while also swinging forward occasionally. He underwent season-ending toe surgery last month. It was as a forward at Peel that Derksen emerged on the AFL radar, including kicking four goals against West Coast's reserves. But he spent most of his time in defence for GWS, who are yet to table an offer to him. Melbourne remain interested in Derksen, whose options will increase if he ends up being a delisted free agent. The 24-year-old has family in Victoria and Western Australia, where his older brother Zack is enjoying a strong WAFL season as a forward for Perth. The rebuilding Eagles are among a number of other AFL clubs, in addition to the Demons, monitoring Derksen's situation. Interested clubs are most excited about his marking potential in attack. Knevitt never in doubt Loading Mitch Knevitt's contract extension with the Cats is imminent after he made an appearance against Essendon on Friday night, replacing Patrick Dangerfield, who was managed. Knevitt has been a slow build after being drafted at pick 25 in 2021, but he has improved every season and has been unlucky not to play more than six games in 2025. The Cats have a strong set of youngsters emerging, with George Stevens, who played two games this season, and Ted Clohesy, who has played nine matches this season, including six as a sub, uncontracted. Meanwhile, Hawthorn have extended star small forward Nick Watson until the end of 2029.
The Age
22 minutes ago
- The Age
Marcus in the middle: Saint's future uncertain as negotiations drag on
The Saints' aggressive efforts to land free agents have inflated the market, with their offers to Giants' defender Leek Aleer and De Koning well above market rates, and neither are they going die wondering in their attempt to attract West Coast's Harley Reid. The courting of players from other clubs has, according to three competition sources who want to remain anonymous, left senior players at the club with questions about the direction of the club's list management. Rowan Marshall and Callum Wilkie remains contracted until the end of 2027. Wilkie, who has now played 153 consecutive matches since his debut, is expected to remain at the club. But Marshall, who has been linked to Geelong, was less definitive about his future when he was asked a fortnight ago about De Koning's potential arrival. Big Roo to continue North Melbourne forward-ruck Callum Coleman-Jones is set to score a one-year deal to play on next season after another injury-interrupted season. The ex-Tiger, who was traded to the Roos in 2021, has shown promising glimpses at both clubs, but a series of setbacks, including a season-ending Achilles rupture last year and a calf injury early in his comeback game this season, have held him back. Coleman-Jones has a great opportunity at North, given their shortage of tall players, but will be desperate for an extended injury-free run after playing only 23 senior games in four seasons at Arden Street. The 26-year-old has kicked 20 goals in 32 matches in a career that started when he was the No.20 pick at the 2017 draft. Loading The Kangaroos handed over a 2022 second-round selection, pick 40, in 2021 and veteran defender Robbie Tarrant for Coleman-Jones, picks 42 and 47, plus a future fourth-round selection. The ruck market will be active this season even though one of the players who was attracting the most interest – Collingwood's Darcy Cameron is now off the table. Essendon free agent Sam Draper is weighing up offers from the Lions and Adelaide, while Hawthorn's Ned Reeves has attracted interested. Another ruckman who is out of contract and playing well in the WAFL is Fremantle's Liam Reidy, who has found it tough to break into the Dockers' line-up with Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy, two of the best big men in the competition. Melksham ponders call Melbourne forward Jake Melksham, to turn 34 this month, is poised to make the call on whether he extends his 246-game career into next season. Melksham's two goals in the Demons' narrow loss to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday increased his season tally to 31, just one off his personal best from his second year at Melbourne in 2018. He has a close relationship with Simon Goodwin, who parted ways with the Demons at the start of last week, from their shared time at Essendon. Melksham also has a young family, so will weigh all that up when making his call, but is still comfortably a first-choice player for Melbourne, and needs to play into next season to bring up 250 games, given the Demons are out of finals contention. A decision is unlikely to be made until after the Demons' campaign ends under caretaker coach Troy Chaplin. Tall Giant attracts interest Greater Western Sydney rebuked Melbourne's interest in 197-centimetre swingman Wade Derksen last year while he was still under contract, but the Demons are set to have competition for him this time. Darwin-born Derksen – the fifth pick in the 2022 mid-season draft out of WAFL club Peel Thunder – has not played a senior game for the Giants in more than three years on the list, and is out of contract at season's end. There are club recruiters who rate Derksen the best key-position player in the VFL, where he averaged 20 disposals and four intercept marks across 13 matches this year, while also swinging forward occasionally. He underwent season-ending toe surgery last month. It was as a forward at Peel that Derksen emerged on the AFL radar, including kicking four goals against West Coast's reserves. But he spent most of his time in defence for GWS, who are yet to table an offer to him. Melbourne remain interested in Derksen, whose options will increase if he ends up being a delisted free agent. The 24-year-old has family in Victoria and Western Australia, where his older brother Zack is enjoying a strong WAFL season as a forward for Perth. The rebuilding Eagles are among a number of other AFL clubs, in addition to the Demons, monitoring Derksen's situation. Interested clubs are most excited about his marking potential in attack. Knevitt never in doubt Loading Mitch Knevitt's contract extension with the Cats is imminent after he made an appearance against Essendon on Friday night, replacing Patrick Dangerfield, who was managed. Knevitt has been a slow build after being drafted at pick 25 in 2021, but he has improved every season and has been unlucky not to play more than six games in 2025. The Cats have a strong set of youngsters emerging, with George Stevens, who played two games this season, and Ted Clohesy, who has played nine matches this season, including six as a sub, uncontracted. Meanwhile, Hawthorn have extended star small forward Nick Watson until the end of 2029.
ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Through fresh eyes — how the five players who made their Blues debuts saw the record-breaking 1995 premiership
Shadowed by the colossus of the Great Southern Stand, respected Carlton administrator Shane O'Sullivan stood with his newest recruit and stared out at the expanse before them. The fresh-faced teenager from Adelaide next to him had only recently arrived for an induction weekend, having been snapped up with pick 15 in the 1994 AFL draft. "Have you ever been to the MCG?" O'Sullivan had asked the kid on his first day at Princes Park. The answer was a definitive no. The intimidating bustle of Melbourne — painted in its greys and beiges and blacks, and soundtracked by the din of the trams and the never-ending traffic — was a world away from the charming tranquillity of Woodville Oval in the suburbs of the South Australian capital. O'Sullivan's job was to integrate the new guys into the system, and integration meant controlling intimidation. And few things were more intimidating than the 'G. "Round one we'll be playing Collingwood here, mate," O'Sullivan said to the kid as they cast their eyes over the thousands of empty seats. "There's probably gonna be about 85,000 people. "You reckon you'd like playing in front of that?" The kid nodded. He wasn't convinced it would happen — this was a Carlton side packed with generational talent after all — but he knew he wanted it. Confidence, lacking in some new arrivals, was not an issue for Scott Camporeale. He had it in spades. Just weeks later, on April 2, 1995, the 19-year-old pulled on the number 16 navy blue guernsey for the first time, and ran up the race onto the MCG in front of 87,119 screaming supporters. By the end of the season, the kid from Woodville-West Torrens would write himself into the history books as a Carlton legend. Five players debuted for Carlton in 1995, but Camporeale was the only one that had been brought in via that season's national draft. Held on October 28 of 1994, the draft was far from today's glamorous, controlled show of mums kissing sons, dads shedding tears, and siblings leaping all over their brothers and sisters as their AFL dreams become a reality. "I was actually sitting in a trade school exam at Regency Park back here in Adelaide when it was happening," Camporeale says. "Carlton was one of the teams I hadn't spoken to at all. I thought I was going to Melbourne. Neil Balme was the coach there and he'd been coach at Woodville-West Torrens, so he'd seen me through the juniors. "So I get out of the exam and mum rings me. She says 'you're going to Melbourne'. So I thought, yeah that's OK, that's what I expected. And then she says 'no, no, no, you're moving to Melbourne, but you're playing for Carlton. "I said 'well mum, that's a bit different'." The Blues had swooped on Camporeale with their first pick at number 15, undercutting the Demons, who ended up having to take current Richmond coach Adem Yze with the very next pick. "I asked Shane O'Sullivan at the time, I said to him 'you didn't say anything to me before the draft'," Camporeale says. "And he said 'well we didn't want anyone to know we were going to pick you'." Still on the cusp of full professionalism, the AFL remained a flimsy career path for anyone who came to it without a back-up plan. For Camporeale, that plan was seeing out what he had started in the exam room on draft day. "I was doing an electrician's apprenticeship so I couldn't move over straight away," he says. "I was training here and there and flew over on a couple of occasions, but it wasn't until after the Christmas break that I properly moved to Melbourne." It was then that 'Campo' integrated himself into one of the most intimidating Blues squads in the history of the game. For Carlton, the seven seasons from their 1987 premiership victory to the start of 1995 had been a mixed bag of close but no cigar, or no cigar offered at all. They'd lost the semi and preliminary finals in 1988, then missed the finals altogether up until 1993, when they made the grand final and somehow lost to the Baby Bombers, a team of destiny that had no right to even be in the same weight division as the hook-throwing, uppercut-launching heavyweight Blues. In 1994, they went out in straight sets, capitulating against a Cats team that had seemingly used up all of its nine lives by the time it reached Princes Park for the semifinal, with superstars Garry Hocking, Paul Couch, and Mark Bairstow all late withdrawals. This was a Carlton team that had everything to prove. "There were some of my all-time favourites from South Australia in that team," Camporeale says. "To turn up at the club and have Steve Kernahan as your captain. Craig Bradley was there. Andrew McKay, he was a big brother to me when I arrived. "So I felt like there was no expectation on me as a new recruit. These guys, like (Greg) Williams, and (Stephen) Silvagni, and (Earl) Spalding … the way they finished in 1993 and 1994, they had a fair bit of drive about them. "I just went in head down and went about my way. But eventually you do get to the point where you're thinking 'how do I get into this team?'." Through the pre-season, coach David Parkin had been running match simulations between two squads. In the blue training guernsey, the "probables" — the blokes most likely to take on Collingwood in that opening match. And in the white, the "possibles" — a mix of players on the brink of arriving, and those who had barely left the house. "I was on the 'possible' team for most of the preseason, but I remember it clearly, I played one match simulation for the 'possibles' on the wing and I played really well," Camporeale says. "So the next training session I have a look at the whiteboard and I've been flipped to the other side. "And then that's the thing, you get into that 'probable' team and suddenly you're surrounded by the best players at the club, and they make you look better by association. "You know, I think I did bring something different. They needed that speed on the wing and that's why they drafted me. They already had Hall of Famers down the spine. I didn't feel any real pressure, probably more the pressure I put on myself. "But I knew then that I was a chance for round one." Matt Clape's journey to Princes Park was similar to Camporeale's — but only in the sense that he didn't know the Blues wanted him. "I thought I was going to Adelaide," Clape says from his Perth home. "There'd been a quick chat with Shane O'Sullivan before [the 1995 preseason draft] — and I mean it was quick — but the first I knew of being picked was when David Parkin called me on the way to work." Clape wasn't the fresh-faced teenager that Camporeale was when he made the move across the country to Melbourne. At almost 26 years old, the halfback flanker had been looking for a change after being on the West Coast list for four seasons, playing 29 games and watching on as the Eagles claimed premierships in 1992 and 1994 — all without Clape playing in a final. "It was tough back then, it wasn't like the AFL lists you have now," Clape, who was linked to WAFL team East Perth at the time, says. "I'm playing halfback, and you're going up against guys like John Worsfold and Guy McKenna, so you become a bit player who only comes in when there's an injury. "And the way it was set up back then was that you'd be training with West Coast at the start of the week on a Tuesday, then if you weren't needed in the AFL, you'd go back and train with East Perth on the Thursday. "You'd play with them on the weekend, push one of WAFL guys out of that team back into the ressies — which was never nice — and then do it all again. "Then when you did make it into the AFL team, there were no rotations, so you'd sit on the bench for most of the game, then have to literally head back to the WAFL for two or three weeks just to get your fitness back up again." The to and fro of it all became too much. The AFL dream was one thing, but this was more akin to an AFL restless night, in a deep sleep one moment, before being startled awake and never truly feeling rested. The Eagles offered Clape a one-year contract extension, but having played just six games in the 1994 season, he felt it was time for a change. "I'd just got married at the end of 1994 and me and my wife just said, you know, let's go into the draft and see what happens," Clape says. "If we don't get picked up, we stay here and play at East Perth and get on with our lives." Clape leaned on East Perth teammate and future Melbourne Football Club president Glen Bartlett to help shop his name around, and with the preseason draft falling in early March — just weeks before the start of the new season — there was little time to lose setting up new lives. "Adelaide had a couple of jobs lined up for me and we had no reason to think it was going to go any other way," Clape says. "But yeah, next thing I know I get a call from David saying we've picked you up in the draft and hopefully you're happy enough to get across here." The Crows, for what it's worth, would pick future premiership players Peter Vardy (pick seven) and Tyson Edwards (pick 21) around Clape, who went at 13. "[Future Hawks and Eagles coach] Ken Judge was the assistant coach at Carlton at the time and I think he probably had the most influence in getting me across, having watched me when he was coaching in the WAFL," Clape says. "So yeah, it was a short turnaround. West Coast had been fantastic over the summer in allowing me to keep training with them in the preseason, so I was in reasonable condition. "But it was essentially you get the call, say 'see ya darling, I'm off to Victoria and we'll figure out how to pack up the house and get to Melbourne as we go'." Like Camporeale, Clape was teetering on the edge of the probables and the possibles. Thanks to the likes of McKay, Silvagni, Peter Dean, Ang Christou and Michael Sexton, the Carlton defence was rock solid. The forward line though, built around Kernahan and Spalding, was arguably Carlton's weak spot. It was there that Clape was given his chance. "I think it was literally one or two weeks later, I end up playing forward in an intra-club match and had a pretty good game," Clape says. "Then there was a scratch match at Gosch's Paddock against, I think it was Richmond, and I played well again. And it starts to cross your mind that maybe this time you don't have to rely on other players getting injured to get a game." On the Thursday before the opening match against Collingwood, the Carlton boys went through the normal training session at Princes Park. For those in the top 90 per cent of the probables, there was no reason for concern — they would be playing on Sunday. For those in the bottom 70 per cent of the possibles, there was the hope that maybe later in the season they'd get a look in as they worked on their games. And for everyone else, that dream of playing against Magpies hinged on one man and his team list. Col Kinnear, the former Swans coach and then chairman of the Carlton match committee, would stick a piece of paper up in the rooms with every players' name on it. If your name was highlighted, you were in. Alphabetically, ruckman Matthew Allan was highlighted. Teenagers Simon Beaumont, Matthew Blagrove and Tony Bourke would have to bide their time. Craig Bradley was the most probable of the probables, and Fraser Brown wasn't too far behind him. And then, separated only by cult hero Christou, two men with two very different journeys to the Carlton 1995 team saw that their names had been highlighted amongst the club's elite players. Camporeale and Clape had broken into a team that had seemed nigh on impossible to break into. Deafening. That's the one common adjective used between Clape and Camporeale when describing that first game against Collingwood. "The biggest thing is the deafening noise," Camporeale says. "You go from the SANFL where there's smaller crowds, to playing in front of that. You scream for the ball and nobody can hear you." Clape says it was almost like you could feel the history between the two clubs through the sound alone. "The difference between Carlton and West Coast at the time was that at West Coast, legends were only just being made. But at Carlton, you'd go through the club and they've got 100 years of history," Clape says. The Pies had made the finals the year before, falling short of a mammoth upset against West Coast by just two points at the WACA, in an opening week that had seen one final go to extra time, another decided by a kick after the siren, and the final game seeing the Blues shocked by the Demons after leading at half-time. The Magpies were the underdogs, but the new Blues knew that anything could happen in a rivalry game. Clape, as predicted, would get the start at half forward, while Camporeale headed out to a wing. "I was pretty lucky, it was Sticks's [Kernahan's] 200th game so nobody gave a rat's arse about me," Camporeale says. "But I do remember my first kick. I took off with the ball and passed it inside 50, straight over Sticks's head in his milestone game, so it wasn't a great start. "That sort of got rid of the nerves though and away we went from there." The Blues led by seven points at quarter-time and to that point Clape had been solid, but was yet to trouble the scorers in his new role up forward. "For me it was a second chance," Clape says. "So my aim was to just do the right things, really concentrate on what the coaches wanted me to do and hopefully get my hands on the ball." In the second quarter, Clape's first major for the navy Blues came via textbook medium forward footy. After teammate Brad Pearce had brought the ball to ground in a marking contest, Clape burst through the pack and took the pill cleanly, before his momentum was halted by a Craig Kelly tackle. Handballing while being turned 360 in the tackle, Clape found an open Pearce, who then passed back to Clape, who had somehow kept his balance after the pirouette in the forward pocket, before running into an open goalsquare for the six points. His second of the quarter came via a set shot 35 metres out, after getting on the end of a hurried Camporeale kick forward, as the two newbies teamed up to increase the Carlton lead. "He's added a bit of flavour to that forward line," commentator Ian Robertson said during the call. By the final term, Clape had his third via a strong contested mark against star Magpies fullback Gary Pert. The West Coast recruit would be Carlton's top scorer on the day, as the Blues ran out 29 point winners. Camporeale collected 19 disposals, behind only superstars Bradley, Williams, McKay, Brett Ratten and Anthony Koutoufides. It was the first in a run of seven victories, before mid-season disaster appeared to strike. To say that few people saw what was coming in rounds eight and nine of the 1995 season would be generous, because what happened baffles the most ardent of footy pundits even to this day. With seven straight victories under their belts — including a three-game run where they knocked off potential contenders North Melbourne, West Coast, and Essendon — Carlton's season was stopped dead its tracks by two Davids looking to shatter the resolve of the mighty Goliath decked out in his navy blue tunic. The first blow was dealt via a Swans team that had finished dead last in 1994, but now had the formidable weapon of Tony Lockett attached to its belt, hurling his mighty frame at the Carlton defence at the SCG. Lockett would kick eight goals to go along with fourth-gamer Michael O'Loughlin's bag of four, as the Swans stunned the Blues with a 72-point belting. The next week, Carlton headed to a freezing Waverley Park to take on St Kilda, who had spent three of the first eight rounds in the wooden spoon spot. The now Lockett-less Saints looked in every way to be a team that would be shocked and awed as they grasped and clawed at the rampaging might of the premiership favourites. Instead, they ran out 56-point winners, restricting the Blues to just three goals as Stewart Loewe (5.2) outscored the hapless Carlton squad by eight points off his own boot. It was only St Kilda's ninth win over the Blues in the past 57 games that the two VFL originals had played. "We had a history of not playing well at the SCG and there was no other reason for that loss other than we just didn't play our style of football," Clape says. "Then the St Kilda game. My form had started to wane by then so I was playing off the bench, and it was pouring with rain and freezing cold and it was just a nightmare sort of day." Camporeale had remained a shining light through both games, having been the second-most prolific ball-winner in the Swans loss, and being one of only three Blues to trouble the scorers against the Saints. "I think we saw it as a bit of an anomaly," Camporeale says. "There wasn't really any panic. It was a bit of a wake-up call and we knew we shouldn't be dropping games to those sort of teams. "But there was a real confidence in the group that despite those games, we thought we were still the best team in the competition." For coach Parkin though, the slip-ups were enough for him to think about tinkering with the starting team. Simon Beaumont had been taken with pick 18 in the 1993 draft, but hadn't been near debuting in 1994 in a first season at Princes Park where he described himself as "raw". "I hadn't played a great deal of under-18 footy. I'd had just the one year in the system and got injured mid-year," Beaumont, who now works in risk management with the Commonwealth Bank, says. "I certainly needed that 12 months development in the VFL before I was ready to play at the next level. "To be honest, my first year [at the Blues] was pretty ordinary and I was lucky to get a second year at the end of the day. But Carlton had a pretty old list and had some retirements, so it meant there were a couple of extra spots at the end of the season and I survived." With Ken Judge coming in as reserves coach, and an extra six or seven kilos added to his growing frame, Beaumont was given more of a chance to run through the midfield and play forward, impressing more and more as the season went on. By round 10, it was his turn to find his name highlighted on Col Kinnear's list after Thursday training. "They'd have their match committee after training, so the coaches would go into a room, and they'd be there for an hour, maybe an hour-and-a-half," Beaumont says. "Then there would be six or seven of us on the fringes who just had to wait around for them to come out with that list. With the Hawks next up at Princes Park following Carlton's two shock losses, Beaumont would have to bide his time further on the bench, as the Blues went out with a mission to prove those last couple of games had been nothing but a blip on their usually immaculate radar. "By the time I came on halfway through the second quarter I reckon we were already 60 points up," he says. "You're running up and down the boundary line trying to get the coach's attention so you can get a run. "But honestly, that first game is just surreal, you cannot believe you get to run out with guys like Stephen Kernahan and Greg Williams and Peter Dean and Harry Madden. I used to idolise them running out and playing with them." When Beaumont did finally get his chance, he took it with both hands, joining the exclusive club of kicking a goal with his very first kick in the big league, having got on the end of a bullet pass from Andrew McKay in front of Hawthorn debutant Daniel Harford. His veteran Carlton teammates flocked to him after the kick, in scenes that are common today, but were less so 30 years ago. "[Harford] obviously had a very different experience in his first game, being on a losing side," Beaumont says. "And I remember my second kick hit the post. So it was good to get involved but I was lucky to debut in a game where we were never going to lose. "I just remember feeling very confident running out there with those guys. I just felt safe and protected." It was a 102-point flogging of the Hawks, but Parkin still wasn't done with his tinkering. Two more players would debut, and one would become an integral part of the success that was to come. Glenn Manton has made no secret of the tumultuous exit he made at Essendon. Now a motivational speaker and author, Manton had worked his way through the junior ranks of the Bombers before playing 21 senior games over three seasons from 1992 to 1995. "I thought that 1995 was going to be my year to really step forward at the Essendon Football Club and announce myself as a regular team member," the 52-year-old Manton says between weights sets during a workout. "History now shows it was my time to step forward and out the door at the Essendon Football Club and find myself delisted for the second time." Recently describing Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy as a "plumber and knockabout sort" compared to Parkin as an "educator and cerebral thinker", Manton and the Bombers never truly clicked, with the self-described "Swiss army knife" on the field saying he felt certain people at Windy Hill had handcuffed him while at the club. It was that uncomfortable relationship that saw him without a footballing home coming into the 1995 season. "I had a number of clubs contact me and enquire into my interest," Manton says. "I foolishly pushed away a couple of clubs, one of them being Sydney. "And I say foolishly not because I was unhappy with where I ended up, but because Sydney were and are a great football club and I just couldn't get my head around the idea of moving to Sydney, with all the change that had already taken place." Like Clape, Manton's name was thrown into the mix of the preseason draft. And like Clape, his selection at pick 27 by the Carlton Football Club was entirely unexpected. "Carlton literally came out of left field," he says. "I attended my first training session during the preseason without as much as a pair of boots. The Essendon Football Club in their wisdom had decided that I was not allowed to take any of my boots with me. "So I not only waved goodbye to the club but to some lovely pairs of [Adidas] Copa Mundials and World Cups that I had worn in and felt like slippers." Manton was also without any proper training clothes. On his first appearance at Princes Park, he was tossed an old training shirt emblazoned with "CUB" on the front by a shocked Parkin, who couldn't believe how poorly equipped the former Bomber was compared to Clape, who had been allowed to train with the Eagles right throughout the preseason. "That shirt is one of the few pieces of memorabilia that I now treasure from my career," Manton says. "It has so much significance and meaning behind it. That time at the club, my relationship with David Parkin. It was an intimidating club to walk into. Knowing only Koutoufides from their time playing in the TAC Cup, Manton had to find his feet in an environment of older, more experienced players compared to that which he had left at Windy Hill, where the "Baby Bombers" had taken all before them in 1993. He spent the first half of the year finding his feet in his new Carlton-supplied Copa Mundials, before being told he was getting the call-up to play in the seniors after the anomalous mid-season losses. "But I strained my hamstring," Manton says. "I remember thinking to myself, there goes any chance of playing in the seniors, because I'd really worked up to it and I thought I deserved an opportunity. "But David Parkin said to me, as soon as you're right to go again, you'll be in the team. And he was good to his word." In round 12, Manton found his name highlighted on Kinnear's list to debut at Princes Park, against arguably Carlton's closest rivals for the 1995 flag — the Gary Ablett-led Geelong Cats. "I remember I was playing my 22nd game, I was wearing the number 22, I'd just turned 22 a couple of weeks earlier, and I remember it was just one of those games where you thought this is just meant to be," Manton says. "At that stage I was just happy to play one game and learn how to contribute to that team. "I remember coming on and being able to have an impact just being able to play multiple roles, sliding forward, being defensive. It's easy for someone who has that sense of abandon in their game and just plays with some real freedom. "I had nothing to lose that day." The Blues, as it turned out, didn't either, winning the game by just three points to make it three victories on the trot since the St Kilda disaster. They would then down the newly arrived Fremantle by 57 points at Subiaco, then account for Richmond by 30 points at the MCG. By round 15, they were flying. But Parkin had one more hard-earned debut to hand out, to a bloke who had been a Hail Mary 103rd pick in the draft three years earlier. Ben Harrison was already planning for life as a copper in Tasmania. Picked up from Devonport as a 17-year-old in the 1992 draft, when the science of picking young players was still a long way from being understood, Harrison had toiled away in the reserves without getting any sort of look in with the seniors. "I had one year left on my contract going into 1995, so I was secure in the fact that I had one more year to make an impression," Harrison, now a partner at Northcote real estate agent Jellis Craig, says. "So 1995 was, for me, this kind of make or break season. I'd been playing reserves, I hadn't been injured, I just couldn't break into the seniors. "In my mind I had that thought that I was going back to Tasmania to be a cop. That fear was ever present, that this could be it, that my career could be over before it started." With a run of strong games in the reserves that Harrison describes as the best streak of footy he had ever played in the twos up until that point, and with Carlton's uncharacteristic losses still in mind, the middle of the season became his true make or break moment. At 191cm and with the ability to play anywhere on the ground, he fit the mould that Parkin was clearly trying to fill with similar players. Clape's form had waned slightly, and he had started on the bench for a string of games. Beaumont had come in for two matches, before being sent back to the reserves. Manton had just been selected and was still finding his feet. And Harrison's chance finally arrived in round 15 against Adelaide at Princes Park, as a Mil Hanna injury forced a shuffle of the names on the board. That elusive blue training guernsey was finally his. "I felt like I really earned it that year," Harrison says. "The past couple of seasons I think I probably just felt comfortable that I was at Carlton. But '95 … that was the realisation that it could all be over, that I needed to get my arse into gear. "That Thursday night training was sharp. It was sharp. I've never been in a training environment where you were more nervous about dropping a ball. It was on, and there were high expectations. After so long toiling in the reserves, Harrison's shot had finally arrived on a Saturday afternoon on July 15, 1995, against the Crows at Princes Park. His teenage years were behind him, but he remained one of the youngest players to run out on the day, with only Camporeale and Adrian Whitehead — who had debuted the year prior — ever so slightly younger. It was reward for effort, and it was a moment not lost on Harrison's more established teammates. "It was Peter Dean's 200th game that day at Prinny Park, and he grabbed me from the back of the group when we were running out and took me through his banner," Harrison says. "That was a memorable moment for me because he was such a kind and generous person, and he did that for me on his day." Harrison would start on the bench against the Crows, only coming on late in the third quarter. His first kick was a shot at goal that missed, and he closed out with five disposals in a 33-point win. The next week, he was picked again to play Collingwood at the MCG. This time he only got five minutes on the park, as the Blues won by 22 points. "That was just the reality of the way the bench was used back then, there were no rotations," Harrison says. "And that one was tough, because you'd run the boundary to keep warm and for 95 per cent of the game you're getting sprayed by Collingwood fans saying 'you're not getting on mate, you're no good'. "So the next week I get dropped. I didn't see it as being my fault, it was just that it was a stacked team." Heading back to the reserves still buzzing from his seniors debut, and with hopes that a recall was still on the cards, Harrison played in a match against Fitzroy at Waverley that would shatter any hopes of a run to the finals. In what he says was an accidental clash with renowned hard man Martin Pike, Harrison broke his cheekbone and was sidelined for several weeks. It was a momentum killer that all but ended his campaign for a taste of September action. And he didn't know it at the time, but it would mean he would never wear the navy blue in the AFL again. Stephen Kernahan was a man who led by actions rather than words. An imposing figure with elite athleticism, he would only use his deep, booming voice when it was absolutely necessary to get the message across. And after those mid-season stumbles, Kernahan had wrangled the full attention of the Carlton list at a Thursday training session. "Sticks was a leader of men in that he would show you how it was done, rather than yelling at you," Harrison says. "But I remember him stopping everyone at training after those losses and saying 'there's 16 games to go and we're going to win the f***ing lot'." It was prophecy with profanity, divination with a healthy dose of damnation, a rev up that saw the Blues go on a 15-game winning streak up until the final siren of the preliminary final, equalling a record that had stood since 1908. One more win and the record was theirs alone. One more win and Carlton's season would go down as one of the greatest in history. One more win and the 1995 Blues would be remembered forever. For Harrison and Beaumont, they knew they would have to bide their time. This grand final would not be theirs to taste on the field. For Clape and Manton, there was little nervousness that they would be picked, with both kicking goals in the preliminary final win against North Melbourne, and both crucial to Carlton's overall structure. But for Camporeale, the wait was agonising. "I'd nicked my hammy against Brisbane in the first week [of finals] and then we had the following week off, which gave me a bit of time," Camporeale says. "But it was at least a two-week injury, so I couldn't get up for North Melbourne in the prelim. "So I'm sitting there, and I said to David [Parkin], you know, I've played all bloody year, not missed a game and now I'm going to miss out on a grand final. "He just told me you're not playing against North, let's make sure you're 100 per cent right and we'll see what happens from there." What happened would go down in Carlton infamy. Troy Bond, who had debuted the year before and played 36 games across his first two seasons, would make way for Camporeale. Parkin had been left with an unenviable selection decision. Greg Williams had missed the Brisbane final through suspension, but had come straight back into the prelim with Camporeale sidelined. But with Camporeale apparently fit to go for the grand final, the Blues finally had a clean bill of health — and a heartbreaking call would have to be made. "The easiest way for me, the gutless horror, was to give the 22 players a team sheet with their name on it and give me the 20 other blokes they wanted to go over the top with on the weekend," Parkin would later say. "I don't know the actual figures but I think Troy got his own vote and not too many others, which was a tragedy for him. "I probably didn't know how [to address it] at that time. It's one of those elements of my life that I've been regretful and have carried it since then. "A really sad story. I remember having to speak to Troy and he broke down, walked out the door, never to be seen again." Bond was told on the Thursday that he wouldn't be playing in the grand final. By Friday, he was back home in Adelaide. "I've never spoken to Troy since, he probably wouldn't speak to me anyway," Parkin said. Carlton would facilitate a trade for the rising star at the end of the season, taking Adelaide's pick 63 and using it to select Jacob Anstey, who would play just 18 games for the Blues. Bond would go on to star for the Crows in their maiden premiership year, kicking four goals in the 1997 grand final and etching himself into South Australian football history. "The good thing was in '97 Adelaide won the premiership and thank god Troy was in that team and became a premiership player," Parkin said. "Troy's a good bloke and gone on with his life and is doing good things." Each man who debuted for Carlton 30 years ago shares one clear opinion about the team that went into the grand final against Geelong that year. They knew they were going to win it all. Forget the heartbreak of the 1994 semifinal loss to an undermanned Cats. Forget that the Cats — outside of the peculiar mid-season losses to cellar dwellers — were one of only two teams to get within a kick of Carlton that season. "You knew that if everyone just performed their role, that they were going to beat any team, on any day, no matter how well the opposition played," Beaumont says. And so it was on grand final day, when the Blues buried Geelong by 61 points in a domination from start to finish. "It was pretty much done and dusted at half-time," Camporeale says, with the Blues leading by 40 points having held a handy but slim lead of 13 at the first break. "Garry Hocking had given away three or four free kicks in that first quarter, which gave us a couple of goals, and then on the edge of half-time Billy Brownless put Ang Christou into the fence. "It was probably the worst thing Geelong could have done." Struggling to remain in the game, charismatic forward Brownless had tackled Christou hard across the boundary, despite Christou appearing to give himself up. The Blues defender took umbrage at the treatment, reaching back behind him to make contact with Brownless's head, leading Brownless to put Christou in a choke hold. A tussle between the two played out, before the arrival of Koutoufides lit a fuse, as Brownless swung an errant right jab at the young Carlton superstar's jaw. "All hell broke loose," Campoerale says. "I think everyone bar me and [Geelong's] Peter Riccardi, who was on the other wing, got involved. "I said to him there's not much point me getting into it, I'm about 60kg and I'm not going to do much damage, so I left it to the other guys." For Manton, the half-time fuse wasn't needed. He had the game won in his head the night before. "I knew we'd win. I had absolutely no doubt we would win," Manton says. "To take nothing away from those other teams we played or the individuals within them, I just knew we had extraordinary momentum. "I remember every small detail. I remember hoping, wishing, dreaming that I could stay on the ground for a longer period of time because I was just so excited to play. "I slept like a baby the night before because I knew exactly how I wanted to play and what I wanted to bring to the team. And it played out just as I saw it. "It was just an incredible privilege." Clape, who had watched from the stands as his Eagles teammates won the flag twice in the three previous seasons, was now in the middle of the celebrations on the MCG, collecting 19 disposals in an important performance. "It was just a great experience to be in it," Clape says. "To come away with the thing that you had been dreaming of as a 10-year-old running around with a footy, to have that almost fall in your lap — that was awesome." In the stands, Harrison and Beaumont watched on as their 21 mates made history as arguably the most dominant and complete team the AFL had seen. "I remember it being joyous. But I remember having some jealousy sitting in the stands, don't get me wrong," Harrison says. "There was some jealousy that someone like Campo came in in his first year and won the lot — but all that was on me. It was all on my performance, it wasn't anyone else's fault. "I didn't make the grand final but I was on a journey and I celebrated that grand final like I did play in it." Led by Kernahan — who had preached a holistic approach to the ups and downs of the season throughout the year — every single player, coach and staff member gathered for hours, days, and even weeks to rollick in the glory of the success that the club had achieved, rather than what that team of 21 had achieved. "At no stage just because you didn't play that game were you made to feel any less part of the win and the celebration and the success the club enjoyed that year," Beaumont says. Camporeale says he slept for two weeks after it all, coming away with "a shaved head and at least two cold sores". "We certainly celebrated at a very high level," Manton says. "It was a different shape and time around the community back then and that allowed us a sense of freedom to genuinely engage with the community and genuinely let our hair down. "Now, I feel sorry for the modern athlete who never gets that type of release — and I'm not talking anything extreme — but just the idea that you could win the grand final, have your moment in the sun, and share it with people openly." Each player who donned the navy blue guernsey for the first time 30 years ago walked away from that season with life-changing memories. Memories of the celebrations, the expectations, the standards and the victories. But each came away with a different lesson learned that has helped guide them on the path that would follow that most magnificent of years. Beaumont would gradually become a mainstay in the Carlton team, playing 152 games for the Blues, before seeing out his career with two seasons at the Hawks. "It felt really special to be a part of it," he says. "Obviously not playing on the big day means you don't feel quite as much involved all these years later, but being at that club in my second year was pretty special." For Clape, that second shot at football glory came at the perfect time, as injuries cruelled his next few seasons and forced the West Australian to retire aged 29, with just 35 more games under his belt after the 1995 grand final. It was a move and a season that he will forever be grateful for, and while he enjoys the plaudits of having played in Carlton's most recent premiership, he's eager to see somebody else take the crown. "I think it's probably lasted longer than it should from a Carlton point of view," he says of that '95 premiership glow. "Ideally they would have won another one by now. "But as a personal achievement it's been great to have shared it with my wife and with the guys. They're all still great mates." Harrison's journey at Carlton finished that very off-season. While working a shift at the Rose Hotel in Fitzroy, he was interrupted by the arrival of Parkin and Kinnear, teetotallers who looked out of place in the popular drinking hole. "They come in and they tell me we're going to Punt Road," Harrison says. "So we get there, and [Richmond coach] Robert Walls pulls me into a room and tells me I've been traded to the Tigers, for my housemate Justin Murphy, who was signing a contract for the Blues with Parkin and Kinnear in the room next door." Murphy and Harrison drove home together, and delivered the news to their fellow housemates — Carlton spearhead Brad Pearce and future Richmond legend Matthew Richardson — that the deal had been done. Harrison had again been planning for life as a police officer back home is Tassie, but now found himself playing alongside his childhood best mate Richo. "Yeah, look, it was a bizarre day," says Harrison, who played five years at Richmond before another five years at the Western Bulldogs. "But it gave me another chance at living my footy dream, so I took it." Now 50 years old, Harrison looks back on 1995 fondly, but acknowledges that he took the success of that incredible year for granted. In his decade at the Tigers and the Bulldogs, he would not only never play in a grand final — his teams wouldn't even make it as far as September. "If I knew then what I know now, I would have been devastated," Harrison says. "I don't even think I had a realisation that I wouldn't get anywhere near another [grand final]. "I'd been at a club that just always made finals, and this year they won the lot, so I think there was an expectation in my head that this just happened — and for 10 years I got nothing. "Don't get me wrong, everyone made you feel a part of it. It was magical. And I wouldn't swap it. But I didn't realise at the time that, you know, another 10 years playing in the AFL at two clubs, and I would never again get near one. "Wouldn't even get near a final." For Manton, the move from an Essendon team and coaching method that didn't click with his style, to a Carlton club that helped him live out his football dreams, left him with more than just a premiership medal. "I don't need that medal to remind me about how I played football and what I sacrificed. I know exactly what I did," Manton says. "The medal is a wonderful trinket at best. It's the relationships around the game that mean everything to me. "In the long term, moving to Carlton is all about the relationships. My football career is not defined by that medal or any statistics, it's about the relationships I built with external persons but also the relationship I built within myself. "My relationship with David Parkin is worth more than my premiership medal. My relationship with the Carlton Football Club, let alone the supporters — and I mean that with absolute sincerity — is worth much more than what is essentially a keepsake." At the start of that 1995 season, teenager Scott Camporeale stood in the MCG and was asked if playing in front of 85,000 screaming fans would be something he'd be interested in. By the end of the season, he was lifting the premiership cup on that very ground, having become a crucial part of the journey and a household name in the footy world. "I think 1995 set me up professionally in footy because you learn how to win and you learn how to train," Camporeale says. "But it was more than that. "It was about understanding the tradition of the jumper and what had gone before you and what it means to the supporters and the spectators who pay for their membership and what they deserve and what they expect." Camporeale would go on to play 92 games on Melbourne's hallowed turf, in a career that spanned 252 total matches, an All-Australian nod in 2000, and a legacy as one of the most exciting and explosive players of his era. And it had all started in an exam room in Adelaide as he prepared for life as an electrician. Camporeale's twin sons, Lucas and Ben, are now with the club that made him famous, with Lucas writing his own debut story in Carlton's first game of 2025. His phone call to mum and dad to share the news that he had been picked was filmed on Princes Park for social media, with not a Col Kinnear list or a white training guernsey in sight. "It's nice to share that moment, and I hope Ben will get that soon too," Camporeale says. "But yeah — it's a lot of luck around where you get drafted and where you debut. "And I was very lucky."
