The 2013 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 150th season of competition, and 117th as a member of the Australian Football League. It was the first season coached by new coach Mick Malthouse, who replaced Brett Ratten after the club failed to reach the finals in 2012. Carlton finished sixth out of eighteen teams for the 2013 AFL season, after finishing eighth after the home-and-away season.
Club summary 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, and the club extended its deal with Mars for a further three years. 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.
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.
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. The club set a new membership record of 50,564, breaking by more than 10% the previous record of 45,800 set in 2012.
Senior Personnel 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. 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 (in 1992 and 1994) and (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.
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, and development coach and Northern Blues senior coach Darren Harris left the club to pursue a career in leadership consulting. Western Australian state Under-16s coach Robert Wiley, who had previously worked as an assistant coach under Malthouse at , joined the club in the new role of Director of Coaching and Development, and recently retired player Brad Green joined the club as a midfield development coach. Development coach Luke Webster took on the additional responsibility as Northern Blues coach for 2013.
Chris Judd opted to step down from the role of club captain, having served in the role for five seasons from 2008 until 2012; he was replaced in the role by Marc Murphy, with Kade Simpson and Andrew Carrazzo named as vice-captains. 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.
Former club champion Stephen Kernahan continued as club president in the 2013 season, a position he had held since August 2008.
Squad for 2013 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 ListCarlton Football Club, Player List , Retrieved 8 October 2011. 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 ListCarlton Football Club, Carlton Blues Rookie player list , Retrieved 30 April 2011. 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 panelCarlton Football Club, 2011 Coaching Panel , Retrieved 30 April 2011. State Coach Coaching position Carlton Coaching debut Former clubs as coach Mick Malthouse Senior Coach 2013 Footscray (s), (s), (s) Robert Wiley Director of Coaching and Development 2013 Perth (s), (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.
Playing list changes
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. Russell moved to in the club's only transaction during the initial free agency and trade period; Thornton was delisted, and ultimately recruited by in the preseason draft.
In Player Previous club League via Troy Menzel Central District SANFL AFL National Draft, first round (pick No. 11) Tom Temay Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup AFL National Draft, second round (pick No. 35) Nicholas Graham Gippsland Power TAC Cup AFL National Draft, third round (pick No. 54) Jaryd Cachia Norwood SANFL AFL Rookie Draft, first round (pick No. 9)
Out Player New Club League via Rohan Kerr West Perth WAFL Delisted Nicholas Heyne Ainslie NEAFL Delisted from the rookie list Mitchell Carter South Fremantle WAFL Delisted from the rookie list Blake Bray Campbelltown Sydney AFL Delisted from the rookie list Matthew Lodge None None Delisted from the rookie list; stayed at the club as a journalist for the club's website. Paul Bower Peel Thunder WAFL Delisted Jordan Russell AFL AFL Trade Period, in exchange for a fourth round draft pick (No. 71 overall) Bret Thornton GWS AFL Delisted
List management Player Change Levi Casboult Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list during AFL National Draft, fifth round (pick No. 89) Zach Tuohy Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list during AFL National Draft, sixth round (pick No. 102) Andrew Collins Delisted, 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) Kyle Reimers 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 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 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 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.
Season summary 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.
Pre-season matches 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 , the only undefeated team in the preliminary rounds. Brisbane then defeated Carlton in the Grand Final by 40 points.