2013 Carlton Football Club season

The 2013 AFL season was the 117th season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; and, having competed in every season, it was also the 117th season contested by the Carlton Football Club. As in previous years, the club's primary home ground was Etihad Stadium, with home games expecting to draw larger crowds played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and with traditional home ground Visy Park serving as the training and administrative base. The club's two joint major sponsors, car manufacturer Hyundai and confectionery company Mars,^[1] and the club extended its deal with Mars for a further three years.^[2] Carlton continued its alignment with the Northern Blues in the Victorian Football League, allowing Carlton-listed players to play with the Northern Blues when not selected in AFL matches.^[3]

The club adopted a new clash guernsey design for 2013, which was predominantly white with navy blue monogram, numbers, shoulders and waist; the new guernsey replaced the predominantly sky blue clash guernsey which had been in use for the previous two seasons.^[1]

The club used the membership campaign slogan "I am Carlton" for the second consecutive season, after having success with the personalisable slogan in the 2012 season.^[4] The club set a new membership record of 50,564, breaking by more than 10% the previous record of 45,800 set in 2012.^[5]

There were several changes to Carlton's senior coaching panel after the 2012 season. Brett Ratten, who had coached the club since late 2007, was sacked with one year remaining on his contract after Carlton underperformed in the 2012 season, finishing tenth when a top four finish had been expected.^[6] Shortly after the season, Ratten was replaced in the role by experienced coach Mick Malthouse, who was signed to a three-year contract. Malthouse was at the time a three-time premiership coach at West Coast (in 1992 and 1994) and Collingwood (in 2010), with twenty-eight seasons and 662 games of VFL/AFL coaching experience with Footscray, West Coast and Collingwood; he had last coached in 2011, and had spent the 2012 season as part of the Seven Network's football commentary team.^[7]

Several of Ratten's assistants also departed after 2012, and Malthouse restructured the coaching panel. Senior assistant coach Alan Richardson and midfield assistant coaches Mark Riley and Paul Williams were all sacked with time remaining on their contracts,^[8] and development coach and Northern Blues senior coach Darren Harris left the club to pursue a career in leadership consulting.^[9] Western Australian state Under-16s coach Robert Wiley, who had previously worked as an assistant coach under Malthouse at West Coast, joined the club in the new role of Director of Coaching and Development,^[10] and recently retired Melbourne player Brad Green joined the club as a midfield development coach.^[11] Development coach Luke Webster took on the additional responsibility as Northern Blues coach for 2013.^[3]

Chris Judd opted to step down from the role of club captain, having served in the role for five seasons from 2008 until 2012;^[12] he was replaced in the role by Marc Murphy, with Kade Simpson and Andrew Carrazzo named as vice-captains.^[13] The leadership group was reduced from nine players to five, with Murphy, Carrazzo, Simpson and Jarrad Waite all holding their places from 2012 and Nick Duigan being elevated to the group for the first time.^[14]

Former club champion Stephen Kernahan continued as club president in the 2013 season, a position he had held since August 2008.^[15]

Statistics are correct as of end of 2012 season. Flags represent the state of origin, i.e. the state in which the player played his Under-18s football.

Senior List[16][17]
No.	State	Player	Age	AFL Debut	Recruited from	Career (to end 2012)		2013 Player Statistics
						Gms	Gls	Gms	Gls	B	D	K	HB	M	T	HO
1		Andrew Walker	26	2004	Bendigo (U18)	142	106	23	7	3	528	398	130	102	48	–
2		Troy Menzel	18	2013	Central District	–	–	7	8	6	51	39	12	19	13	–
3		Marc Murphy (c)	25	2006	Oakleigh (U18)	142	115	23	18	7	512	284	228	87	79	–
4		Bryce Gibbs	23	2007	Glenelg	134	69	21	15	13	469	302	167	92	75	–
5		Chris Judd	29	2002	Sandringham (U18), West Coast	239	206	20	11	12	453	236	217	48	68	–
6		Kade Simpson (vc)	28	2003	Eastern (U18)	176	111	24	6	9	533	350	183	140	51	–
7		Dylan Buckley	19	2013	Northern (U18)	–	–	1	1	–	5	2	3	–	1	–
8		Matthew Kreuzer	23	2008	Northern (U18)	88	48	17	8	11	195	116	79	56	71	428
9		Kane Lucas	21	2010	East Fremantle	18	5	17	9	11	308	164	144	75	36	–
10		Matthew Watson	20	2011	Calder (U18)	11	0	5	2	1	55	41	14	20	5	–
11		Robert Warnock	25	2007	Sandringham (U18), Fremantle	58	12	12	1	1	110	62	48	15	29	414
12		Mitch Robinson	23	2009	Tasmania (U18/VFL)	67	41	21	11	12	407	237	170	64	82	2
13		Chris Yarran	22	2009	Swan Districts	63	40	21	26	25	239	178	61	66	76	1
14		Brock McLean	26	2004	Calder (U18), Melbourne	119	52	22	15	13	464	254	210	105	77	2
15		Jeremy Laidler	23	2009	Geelong (U18, AFL)	25	2	1	–	–	4	3	1	1	5	–
17		Sam Rowe	25	2013	Murray (U18), Sydney, Norwood	–	–	10	9	7	93	59	34	41	19	73
18		Tom Temay	18	–	Sandringham (U18)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
19		Eddie Betts	26	2005	Calder (U18)	166	263	18	27	15	210	125	85	49	61	–
21		Josh Bootsma	19	2012	South Fremantle	5	–	9	2	–	63	43	20	17	23	–
22		Shaun Hampson	24	2007	Mount Gravatt	57	29	6	3	5	63	38	25	26	12	70
23		Lachlan Henderson	23	2007	Geelong (U18), Brisbane	60	34	24	26	14	329	242	87	153	41	–
24		Pat McCarthy	20	2012	Glenelg	1	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
25		Luke Mitchell	20	2012	Calder (U18)	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
26		Andrew McInnes	20	2012	Dandenong (U18)	8	–	8	1	–	79	49	30	23	25	–
27		Dennis Armfield	26	2008	Swan Districts	81	25	24	17	9	340	196	144	55	46	1
29		Heath Scotland	32	1999	Western (U18), Collingwood	244	74	20	5	6	435	259	176	103	46	–
30		Jarrad Waite (lg)	29	2003	Murray (U18)	154	196	14	27	17	164	127	37	84	34	–
31		Marcus Davies	21	2010	North Hobart	15	1	2	–	–	14	8	6	2	9	–
32		Nicholas Graham	18	2013	Gippsland (U18)	–	–	2	–	–	23	18	5	6	2	–
34		Nick Duigan (lg)	28	2011	Norwood	38	6	5	4	3	55	32	23	18	10	–
38		Jeff Garlett	23	2009	Swan Districts	76	128	22	43	29	268	189	79	66	76	–
40		Michael Jamison	26	2007	North Ballarat (U18, VFL)	87	1	24	–	–	259	155	104	102	45	–
41		Levi Casboult	22	2012	Dandenong (U18)	6	7	11	7	7	100	63	37	48	18	68
42		Zach Tuohy	23	2011	Laois GAA	30	8	24	13	9	305	182	123	51	61	–
43		Simon White	24	2010	Subiaco	17	2	9	–	–	96	62	34	40	13	–
44		Andrew Carrazzo (vc)	29	2004	Oakleigh (U18), Geelong	154	46	10	1	1	180	84	96	25	30	–
45		Aaron Joseph	23	2009	Tasmania (U18)	69	10	4	–	–	28	15	13	4	12	–
46		David Ellard	23	2008	Swan Districts	37	22	3	–	–	30	19	11	4	17	–
Rookie List[18]
No.	State	Player	Age	AFL Debut	Recruited from	Career (to end 2012)		2013 Player Statistics
						Gms	Gls	Gms	Gls	B	D	K	HB	M	T	HO
16		Andrew Collins	24	2009	Bendigo (U18), Richmond	36	29	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
20		Rhys O'Keeffe	22	2011	North Adelaide	3	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
28		Tom Bell	21	2012	Morningside	7	4	9	4	4	135	76	59	17	31	–
35		Ed Curnow	23	2011	Geelong (U18), Adelaide, Box Hill	30	8	21	6	3	347	182	165	72	99	–
37		Jaryd Cachia	21	2013	Northern (U18), Norwood	–	–	14	1	4	202	117	85	49	68	–
39		Frazer Dale	19	2012	Calder (U18)	2	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Senior coaching panel[19]
	State	Coach	Coaching position				Carlton Coaching debut		Former clubs as coach
		Mick Malthouse	Senior Coach				2013		Footscray (s), West Coast (s), Collingwood (s)
		Robert Wiley	Director of Coaching and Development				2013		Perth (s), West Coast (a), Western Australia U16s (s)
		John Barker	Assistant coach (Forward)				2011		St Kilda (a), Hawthorn (a)
		Gavin Brown	Assistant coach (Defense)				2011		Collingwood (a), Collingwood (VFL) (s)
		Matthew Capuano	Assistant coach (Ruck) and Development Coach				2009
		Luke Webster	Development coach, Northern Blues senior coach				2011
		Brad Green	Development coach (Midfield)				2013

• For players: (c) denotes captain, (vc) denotes vice-captain, (lg) denotes leadership group.
• For coaches: (s) denotes senior coach, (cs) denotes caretaker senior coach, (a) denotes assistant coach, (d) denotes development coach.

The following summarises all player changes between the conclusion of the 2012 season and the conclusion of the 2013 season.

The 2012/13 offseason was the first in league history to allow players to switch clubs as free agents. Two players who qualified for unrestricted free agency – Jordan Russell and Bret Thornton – announced their intentions to seek other clubs following the 2012 season.^[8] Russell moved to Collingwood in the club's only transaction during the initial free agency and trade period; Thornton was delisted,^[20] and ultimately recruited by Greater Western Sydney in the preseason draft.^[21]

Player	Previous club	League	via
Troy Menzel	Central District	SANFL	AFL National Draft, first round (pick No. 11)[22]
Tom Temay	Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup	AFL National Draft, second round (pick No. 35)[22]
Nicholas Graham	Gippsland Power	TAC Cup	AFL National Draft, third round (pick No. 54)[22]
Jaryd Cachia	Norwood	SANFL	AFL Rookie Draft, first round (pick No. 9)[23]

Player	New Club	League	via
Rohan Kerr[24]	West Perth[25]	WAFL	Delisted
Nicholas Heyne[24]	Ainslie[26]	NEAFL	Delisted from the rookie list
Mitchell Carter[24]	South Fremantle[27]	WAFL	Delisted from the rookie list
Blake Bray[24]	Campbelltown[28]	Sydney AFL	Delisted from the rookie list
Matthew Lodge[24]	None	None	Delisted from the rookie list; stayed at the club as a journalist for the club's website.[29]
Paul Bower[24]	Peel Thunder[30]	WAFL	Delisted
Jordan Russell[31]	Collingwood	AFL	AFL Trade Period, in exchange for a fourth round draft pick (No. 71 overall)
Bret Thornton[20]	GWS[21]	AFL	Delisted

Player	Change
Levi Casboult[22]	Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list during AFL National Draft, fifth round (pick No. 89)
Zach Tuohy[22]	Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list during AFL National Draft, sixth round (pick No. 102)
Andrew Collins[32]	Delisted,[32] received permission to continue training with Carlton in the lead-up to the draft, and then redrafted in the AFL Rookie Draft, second round (pick No. 24)[23]
Kyle Reimers[33]	Received permission to train with Carlton in the lead-up to the pre-season draft, but ultimately opted not to accept the invitation
Andrew McInnes[34] Tom Bell	Prior to the NAB Cup, McInnes was moved to the long-term injury list (knee injury sustained in late 2012), and Bell was elevated to the senior list in his place.
Nicholas Graham[35] Jaryd Cachia	Prior to Round 6, Graham was moved to the long-term injury list (knee), and Cachia was elevated to the senior list in his place.
Pat McCarthy[36] Nicholas Graham	Prior to Round 12, McCarthy was moved to the long-term injury list (foot), and Graham returned to the senior list from the long-term injury list in his place.

During November 2012, the playing list attended a high-altitude training camp in Arizona. New coach Mick Malthouse had taken his team to several such training camps in Arizona while coaching at Collingwood.^[37]

2013 NAB Cup

Carlton won three of its four preliminary matches; due to its strong percentage, the club finished second on the NAB Cup ladder to qualify for the Grand Final, to play against Brisbane Lions, the only undefeated team in the preliminary rounds. Brisbane then defeated Carlton in the Grand Final by 40 points.

Carlton finished the season with a win–loss record of 11–11, the ninth-best record in the league. In summary:

• Against the top six plus Essendon (clubs which finished with 14 or more wins), Carlton had a record of 1–9 from ten games, the sole win coming against Richmond in Round 20. Six of the nine losses were by three goals or less.
• Against clubs between 7th and 13th, excluding Essendon (clubs which finished with between 9 and 12 wins), Carlton had a perfect record of 6–0.
• Against the bottom five (clubs which finished with 8 wins or fewer), Carlton had a record of 4–2, suffering upset losses against St Kilda in Round 7 and Western Bulldogs in Round 20.

End of the season and the effect of Essendon supplements controversy

Coming into the last two rounds of the season, Carlton needed to win both of its games to qualify for the finals; so, when Essendon won in Round 22 by six points, Carlton was eliminated from finals contention.^[44] However, during the season, Essendon was investigated over irregularities in its supplements and sports science program, and three days after the Round 22 match, the AFL excluded Essendon from the 2013 finals series (relegating it to ninth) as part of the penalties handed down over the scandal, promoting Carlton to eighth place.^[45] Carlton then needed to win or draw, or lose and see other results fall favourably, in the final round to hold onto eighth place – and succeeded, overcoming a 39-point third quarter deficit to record a one-point victory against Port Adelaide.^[46]

In the elimination final, Carlton faced Richmond, which was in its first finals match since 2001. Carlton trailed by 32 points early in the third quarter, before an eight-minute purple patch in which it kicked five consecutive goals to bring the margin back to one point; Carlton went on to kick six goals to two in the final quarter to win by 20 points.^[68][69] Sydney was a comfortable winner in the semi-final, leading by 54 points at three-quarter time before finishing with a 24-point win.^[70]

Jeff Garlett was Carlton's leading goalkicker for the season, with 43 goals.^[17] It was the first time Garlett had won Carlton's goalkicking.^[72]

Game records

• Round 1 – Carlton's was defeated by Richmond for the first time since 2008, ending a nine-match winning streak against the Tigers.^[47]
• First Elimination Final – the crowd of 94,690 set a new record as the highest ever to a match in the first week of the finals since prior to 1972, when the introduction of the final five meant that more than one match was played on that weekend.^[68] This record stood until 2017.

Other

• Round 7 – St Kilda hosted Carlton in a match which commemorated the 140th anniversary of St Kilda's first ever match, which took place on 31 May 1873 against the Carlton second twenty.^[73]
• Round 11 – Essendon hosted Carlton in a match which commemorated the 140th anniversary of Essendon's first ever match,^[74] which took place on 7 June 1873 against the Carlton second twenty.^[75]
• Round 23 – Port Adelaide hosted Carlton in the last AFL match ever held at AAMI Stadium. In the match, Carlton trailed by 39 points midway through the third quarter, before staging a comeback to win by one point. The win clinched eighth place and a finals berth.^[46]