carlton

In 1877, Carlton became one of the foundation clubs of the VFA, and was a comfortable winner of the premiership in that competition's inaugural season.

In 1897 the club was one of the VFL's eight founding member clubs.

Carlton has historically been one of the most successful clubs, having won sixteen senior premierships, equal with Essendon as the most of any club.

The club has a long and successful history, winning the most premierships of any club in the VFL era. In the early days they became particularly strong and had a large supporter base.

carlton

Together with fierce rivals Collingwood, Richmond and Essendon, Carlton was considered historically to be one of the league's “Big Four” clubs, and enjoys a healthy rivalry with all three others.

Since winning its last premiership in 1995, Carlton is experiencing its longest ever premiership drought, and has finished bottom of the ladder more times than any club since the competition became known as the AFL.

carlton

If 1969 ended with a disappointing fade out, the following year was just the reverse as the Blues recovered from a 44-point half-time deficit in the grand final against the Pies to win one of the most dramatic and famous matches of all time by 10 points.

1970 vfl grand final

Watched by what remains (and is likely to remain) an Australian record crowd for any football match of 121,696, Carlton looked dead and buried at the long break, inducing Barassi to unleash his now famous instruction to his players to handball, handball, handball.

The players' compliance with this command, coupled with the inspirational impact of nineteenth man Ted Hopkins, saw the pattern of the game alter completely.

carlton

Some have gone so far as to suggest that the half time interval of the 1970 VFL grand final was when the 'prop and kick' style of football finally died and was replaced by the modern, run-on game. What the claim lacks in historical or statistical veracity it makes up for in poetic, indeed almost mythic, potency.

Moreover, it is undeniably the case that in the second half of the 1970 VFL grand final Carlton, by judicious and inventive use of handball and short passing, coupled with enhanced aggressiveness and desperation, made Collingwood appear both unimaginative and uncoordinated and as such provided a basic template for almost every V/AFL premier since.