The 1945 Carlton Football Club season was the Carlton Football Club's 82nd season of competition, and 49th as a member of the Victorian Football League. Carlton fielded teams in the senior and reserves grades of the 1945 VFL season.
Under coach Percy Bentley, Carlton recovered from a middling 3–6 start to win thirteen of its last fourteen games, winning the premiership by defeating in the grand final. It was the 7th senior VFL premiership in the club's history.
Club summary The 1945 VFL season was the 49th season of the VFL competition since its inception in 1897; and, having competed in every season, it was also the 49th season contested by the Carlton Football Club. As it had been since 1897, the club's home ground was Carlton Oval in Princes Park, North Carlton. In addition to its senior team, Carlton fielded a team in the VFL seconds. Its thirds (under-19s) team contested the Northern District Football Association, and development teams East Brunswick, Brunswick City and Prince's Hill contested the Victorian Junior Football League. The club reported 4,623 full 10/6 memberships and 712 5/- memberships (total 5,335), up from 3,936 and 489 (total 4,425) in 1944, but still short of its pre-war record membership of 7,700; but the club saw a profit of only £213, down from £503, owing to the new arrangements for pooling gate receipts across the league.
Senior personnel Kenneth Luke continued as club president through 1945, a position he had held since the 1938 season.Official Website of the Carlton Football Club The Carlton Honour Board Retrieved 19 April 2007. Harry Bell continued as the secretary, a role he had held since 1940.
Percy Bentley continued as coach, a role he had held since crossing from in 1941. Bob Chitty, in his ninth season with the club, was appointed the new captain of the club; he replaced 1944 acting-captain Bob Atkinson, who returned to captain his former VFA side Coburg. Bob Green was appointed vice-captain at the start of the year, then Rod McLean took over after Green was transferred on service.
Squad and player statistics for 1945 The following is the full list of players who were on the Carlton senior and supplementary lists through the 1945 season. Numbers in parentheses represent games played and goals kicked for Carlton during the season.
Playing list changes The following summarises key player transfers to and from the club between the conclusion of the 1944 season and the conclusion of the 1945 season.
World War II was still ongoing during the season, so the availability of players who were in the military would depend on where they were posted; players who were temporarily gained or lost by the club due to military service are included here. Additionally, the Victorian Football Association returned to competition after three years' recess, and VFA players who had played for Carlton during the war on wartime permits automatically became VFA players; these players needed to be re-cleared to the VFL before resuming with Carlton.
In Bernie Bignell (returned from service) Jim Clapton (from Coburg) Hal Hanton (from service and Frankston) Adrian Hearn (from ) Ron Hines (returned from service) Jim Jones (returned from service) Cyril Mann (returned from service) Fred Rose (from services and Sea Lake) Arthur Hall (from , after Round 1) Ken Hands (from North Geelong, and cleared from 's zone after Round 3) Frank McGrath (from , after Round 3) Lance Collins (returned from service to Coburg, then cleared back to Carlton after Round 5) Ken Baxter, (returned from service after Round 11) Bert Deacon (returned from service to Preston, then cleared back to Carlton after Round 13)
Out Bob Atkinson (to Coburg) Frank Anderson (to Preston) Bert Butler (to Bacchus Marsh) Jack Conley (away on service) Ollie Grieve (away on service) Ern Henfry (away on service, then returned to Perth) Jack Howell (away on service) Les McCann (away on service) Ken McLean (away on service) Les Marden (to Coburg) Paul Schmidt (to Devonport) Ted Tuohill (retired) Jack Wrout (retired) Kevin Brown (to , after Round 3) Cyril Mann (to Brunswick, after Round 5) Bob Green (transferred on service after Round 7) Les Gregory (to Preston, after Round 9) Adrian Hearn (to Brunswick, after Round 10)
Other players who were already playing with the Carlton seconds, but who were elevated and made their senior debuts in 1945 were Wal Alexander, Clinton Wines and Don Beauvais. Carlton also notably signed up Jim Davies from Swan Districts, who had won the 1944 Sandover Medal in the under-age WANFL competition; but he was transferred away from Melbourne on service before playing a game and returned to Swan Districts in 1946. He later returned to Carlton in 1949.
Season summary
Home and away season The club entered the home-and-away season with an overall inexperienced team, noted as speedy but lacking in big, experienced key position players. The highly regarded half-backline combination of 1943 had suffered with the loss of Jim Francis to retirement and Frank Anderson to Preston, and Bob Atkinson had also been lost from the back pocket, leaving Bob Chitty as the only established key defender. A total of 18 players from the 1944 list were unavailable. Carlton also had a limited preseason, due in part to the Carlton Cricket Club occupying the ground later than usual as it won its first district cricket pennant (albeit in the unofficial wartime competition); simultaneous intra-club matches were played at 2:45 Saturday 7 April at Princes Park and Ransford Oval, then again at 2:45 Saturday 14 April at Princes Park and McAllister Oval. As a result, sportswriters did not have high expectations of Carlton for the season.
As such, few were surprised when Carlton's season opened poorly, with three comfortable losses, including a club record 100-point defeat at the hands of , to sit last on the ladder. The club was described as "surely the weakest Carlton team sent out in years", and it was again noted that the small players were reasonable but the lack of key position players was a major problem. After the early losses, Carlton started rebuilding, adopting something of a youth policy; no fewer than eight older but underperforming players – Bernie Bignell, Les Gregory, Arthur Hall, Adrian Hearn, Jim Jones, Cyril Mann, Fred Rose, and vice captain Bob Green – were omitted by the end of Round 6; among them, only Jones ever played for Carlton again.
Carlton improved over the following six weeks, with three wins and three losses, to move to 9th place with a 3–6 record overall. The three wins were all good wins against , , and (who were all in the bottom six after Round 9), and the losses came against , and (who were all in the top five after Round 9). The Round 7 game against Richmond was almost won: holding a one-point lead, Frank McGrath had taken a saving mark in defence, before played on and being caught dropping the ball, Richmond's Bob Bawden kicked the winning goal from the free kick, which was the last kick of the game.
Recruits of star key position players as the season progressed strengthened the Carlton team down the spine. The Blues recruited 18-year-old Geelong junior Ken Hands after Round 3, who made an immediate impression at centre half forward, and was touted as a future champion by the press within a month. Coburg key position player Lance Collins, who had played for Carlton on a wartime permit, was cleared back to Carlton after Round 5; and, after making little impact at pivot, was moved to full forward and led the club in goalkicking for the season. Star forward Ken Baxter returned from three years of active service after Round 11. Finally, Bert Deacon, another VFA player who had played with the club on a wartime permit, was cleared to the club after Round 13, immediately became one of the league's best players, holding down the centre half-back position and giving the Blues the best half-back line in the league. This, coupled with Vin Brown serviceably adapting to his new position at full back, gradually turned Carlton into one of the league's strongest teams through the second half of the season, with strength in both key positions and small players. The line-up became very settled, with very selection changes made in the last two months of the season.
This translated into a remarkable improvement in results starting with wins against fourth-placed and first-placed in Rounds 10 and 11. After four straight wins which had seen the club rise to 7th place, Carlton suffered an upset loss against an out-of-form , which itself had lost six straight games, in a dramatic ending in which Essendon kicked three goals in the final two minutes of the game to snatch a three-point with only 13 seconds left. Sportswriters noted that this loss would likely end the Blues' faint hopes of playing finals, as they were two wins and percentage behind fourth place with six games left.
However, Carlton's performances continued to strengthen. Over the next five weeks, it recorded narrow wins against finals rivals , and and big wins against the bottom two and , to rise to fifth place. This set up, for the second consecutive year, a final round clash against third placed , the winner of which would qualify for the finals. Footscray had won the equivalent match in 1944 by one point, kicked after the siren by Harry Hickey; but this year, in front of a then-record crowd of 30,000 at the Western Oval, Carlton dominated with a seven-goals-to-two first quarter before winning by 53 points. This saw Carlton enter the top four for the first time in the season, in fourth place with a 13–7 record, after winning ten of its last eleven home-and-away matches.
RoundDate and local time Opponent Scores (Carlton's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ladderposition Home Away Result 1 Saturday, 21 April () 13.9 (87) 15.18 (108) Lost by 21 points Carlton Oval 13,000 8th 2 Saturday, 28 April () 16.10 (106) 9.18 (72) Lost by 34 points Glenferrie Oval 10,000 10th 3 Saturday, 5 May () 22.18 (150) 7.8 (50) Lost by 100 points Essendon Recreation Reserve 15,000 12th 4 Saturday, 12 May () 12.12 (84) 11.11 (77) Won by 7 points Carlton Oval 10,000 11th 5 Saturday, 19 May () 12.18 (90) 11.13 (79) Won by 11 points Carlton Oval 9,400 8th 6 Saturday, 26 May () 15.18 (108) 12.11 (83) Lost by 25 points Victoria Park 17,700 9th 7 Saturday, 2 June () 13.16 (94) 12.17 (89) Lost by 5 points Carlton Oval 21,000 9th 8 Saturday, 9 June () 10.9 (69) 14.21 (105) Won by 36 points Kardinia Park 11,200 9th 9 Saturday, 16 June () 11.11 (77) 11.20 (86) Lost by 9 points Carlton Oval 20,000 9th 10 Saturday, 23 June () 7.17 (59) 12.12 (84) Won by 35 points Arden Street Oval 15,000 9th 11 Saturday, 30 June () 8.8 (56) 7.8 (50) Won by 6 points Carlton Oval 25,250 9th 12 Saturday, 7 July () 12.8 (80)12.9 (81)Won by 1 point Punt Road Oval 12,000 7th 13 Saturday, 14 July () 13.12 (90) 8.11 (59) Won by 31 points Carlton Oval 10,250 7th 14 Saturday, 21 July () 11.9 (75) 10.18 (78) Lost by 3 points Carlton Oval 13,875 7th 15 Saturday,28 July () 7.12 (54) 9.4 (58) Won by 4 points Brunswick Street Oval 20,000 7th 16 Saturday, 4 August () 7.15 (57) 11.13 (79) Won by 22 points St Kilda Cricket Ground 10,000 6th 17 Saturday, 11 August () 13.11 (89) 13.5 (83) Won by 6 points Carlton Oval 25,000 6th 18 Saturday, 18 August () 12.9 (81) 13.15 (93) Won by 12 points Punt Road Oval 38,000 5th 19 Saturday, 25 August () 23.23 (161) 9.13 (67) Won by 94 points Carlton Oval 9,000 5th 20 Saturday, 1 September () 8.14 (62) 16.19 (115) Won by 53 points Western Oval 30,000 4th
Ladder
Finals series