HOW do we possibly get this down to 10?
It almost seems unfair to limit Eddie Betts' Navy Blue exploits to a top 10, and that's not even including his work in the tri-colours of Adelaide.
So, without further ado, let's get started: but not before we give you the chance to win big.
10. The start of something great
Was there ever any doubt that Eddie Betts’ first AFL goal would be outrageous?
Little did we know at the time, but the first example we saw of the future legend was a mere taste of what was to come.
In his debut against North Melbourne in the opening round of the 2005 season, Betts sharked the hitout, gathered possession, ran towards the boundary and snapped truly.
As Jason Bennett said on commentary, “Have a look at that for the first goal of your career!”. The best was very much yet to come.
9. Back where he belongs
Round 3, 2021.
It was Betts’ 200th Carlton campaign, the first game of what would be his final year, and - perhaps most poignantly - his first game in front of a home Navy Blue crowd.
There are few in the history of the competition who relished off the crowd’s emotions like Betts. After his first season back was marked by empty stadiums and interstate hubs, he was passing on this opportunity.
Gathering the ground ball in one fell swoop, a pirouette and left-foot dribble soon followed, bringing pandemonium to the Marvel Stadium crowd.
It just had to be.
8. The beautiful game from Betts
A month before the world became enraptured with EURO2020, Betts was letting his feet do the talking against the Western Bulldogs.
Earning yet another goal of the week nomination, Betts needed no hands when the ball sat up in the opening term.
Nailing a volley out of midair, it was the purest strike you would see, kickstarting what would ultimately be Betts’ most fruitful showing in front of goal since his return in Navy Blue (five majors).
Joga bonito.
7. No space, no worries for Eddie
Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.
They’re the five Ds of dodgeball, and Betts called on all of them in Round 11, 2012.
Coming up against the reigning premier, Betts exemplified why his 2012 season was arguably his best in the Navy Blue.
Gathering the ball from a contested situation, Betts sidestepped one tackle, spun out of another and sent a left-foot banana sailing straight through the big sticks.
6. Taking to the skies… twice
“The first time was so nice, I had to do it twice. — Anthony Joshua, 2019. And Eddie Betts too in 2012, probably.
So often doing his best work with the ball at ground level, Betts showed that he was more than capable of doing the damage in the air as well.
A week after Cyril Rioli took a hanger against Collingwood, Betts seemed to make it his personal mission to go one better against Brisbane.
After using a Lions opponent as a stepladder in the second term, it took Betts until the next quarter to decide that Ed Curnow would be an appropriate boost, hauling in two high-flying grabs in the space of half an hour.
5. “An absolute doozy”
It had been a difficult night for Carlton on a Saturday night at Marvel Stadium against St Kilda in Round 2 of the 2008 season.
Trust Eddie to make sure they left with a smile on their faces.
Trailing by 46 points and with over 32 minutes on the clock, Betts gathered possession and saw a St Kilda opponent closing in.
Seemingly more comfortable closer to the boundary line anyway, Betts - on his ‘wrong side’ - produced, as Anthony Hudson would claim, “an absolute doozy”.
There’s no better summation than that.
4. Turning on a dime, turning it on
Between 2014 and 2019, Betts made a living out of nailing stunning goals in South Australia.
While he may have a pocket named after him at Adelaide Oval, it was in the final game at Football Park where Betts provided this piece of magic.
And my word was it needed.
On the day where Carlton would produce a famous victory to seal a finals berth, Betts brought the travelling Navy Blue contingent to their feet in the third term.
Twisting and turning against future Blue Cameron O’Shea, Betts escaped a tackle by handballing to himself, before gathering the Sherrin and snapping truly on his left.
3. The Betts way to win a game
While some may have thought that Betts’ best moments were behind him, he produced a true match-winning moment in just his second game back.
After a big week for the veteran, Betts was dynamic down the highway, producing two goals against the much-fancied Geelong as Carlton raced away to a big lead.
However, in danger of letting the win slip, Betts produced a clutch moment — and this time, it wasn’t even in front of the goal.
Always lauded for his defensive pressure, Betts surged the ball forward, laid one tackle and then ran down Jack Henry to win the ball back for his side.
Just 35 seconds later, the ball would end up in his hands once more for his first win back in the Navy Blue.
2. Weaving in and out against the arch enemy
A career-best haul against the arch enemy at the home of football was sweet.
Producing a third-quarter stunner was the icing on the cake.
Betts was the hot man for the Blues up forward that night: so hot that his Bombers opponents couldn’t go near him. That was never more evident than the third term.
Gathering on the left behind post, Betts produced three consecutive sidesteps to render his opponents out of the equation. The right-foot snap sending the Sherrin into the Carlton Cheersquad capped it all off.
1. The smother, the impossible goal
Goal of the Year, Eddie.
It was the first of four, and his sole effort in the Navy Blue which yielded the AFL Goal of the Year. You just need to watch the goal to see why.
Against the old enemy on the MCG, it seemed like all attention was on a laid-out Heath Scotland in the middle of the ground.
That was until Betts commanded everyone’s attention.
Smothering Tarkyn Lockyer’s handball, Betts - hemmed in on the boundary line - produced a snap for the ages under severe pressure.
To borrow a line from another commentator, it was classical Eddie Betts.
