Welcome to the round 18 president’s lunch and the game against our favourite opposition team... Collingwood.

Ladies and gentlemen, in Australia the mark of a true icon is when that person is instantly recognisable from just one name.

In music, if i say Kylie, you know who i mean. In fashion, it’s Elle. In TV and at Collingwood it’s that bloke….what’s his name? …. Eddie. … welcome Eddie.

At Carlton we’ve had some one word player legends – “Jezza” and "Sticks" come to mind.

But in the last one and a half decades, it’s the single word, “Kouta” which  made every Carlton supporter’s heart beat a little faster.

Sadly, Anthony Koutoufides this week closed the door on the No 43 locker.

After 278 games and 16 seasons for the Old Dark Navy Blues, Kouta has retired.

A premiership player and dual Carlton best and fairest, Kouta was afforded the highest accolade by his peers in 2000.

That year he was judged the AFL players association’s most valuable player . . … not bad for a boy from the northern suburbs!

The son of a Greek-Egyptian father and northern Italian mother, Anthony Koutoufides grew up in Lalor, just on the right side of the border dividing  Carlton and Collingwood turf.

In those formative years, young Anthony actually supported the magpies. in fact he wore the no.43 of Ricky Barham on his back.

But as is only natural, it wasn’t long before Kouta saw the light.

Kouta’s prodigious talent as a junior footballer was first identified by carlton’s talent scout, Wayne “Bulldog” Gilbert.

Wayne had a very good eye, and still serves the club as property steward.

But football wasn’t first and foremost for kouta back then.

Athletics was also a part of his sporting portfolio. He excelled at hurdles, shotput and high jump.

He consistently out-jumped Tim Forsyth at junior STATE level.

It’s said by those who know, that if he’d  pursued an athletics career, Kouta would almost certainly have represented Australia as an Olympian.

But in the end, the financial stability of football held sway.

The shy, unassuming kid from Lalor became committed to the Carlton cause - from the under 15s through to the under 19s and finally, the Seniors.

At Carlton, Kouta wore the guernsey no.43 of David Mckay. David, I might add, is the only Carlton player in history to have represented the Blues in three grand final victories over Collingwood.

Kouta stuck with 43 - not in tribute to McKay who he genuinely admired - but out of respect and admiration for his dear mother Anna, who was born in 1943 and who migrated to Australia to start anew.

Kouta’s first steps were somewhat tentative.

He was a shy boy who deeply respected the sanctity of family. He was also somewhat introverted. but he overcame his shyness by letting his football do the talking.

Stephen Kernahan, the longest-serving captain in the history of the competition, this week declared that he has never seen any other player do the things Kouta did in those 14 matches from round six in 2000.

But that block of games was only a small part of Kouta’s highlights reel.

Who can forget the three last quarter goals against Brisbane in the 1995 qualifying final; the 18 marks against West Coast in 1996; and of course the quarter of a lifetime against the bombers in the 1999 prelim?

To steal a line from that game’s commentator, Kouta “tore Essendon’s heart out” in an unlikely one-point victory - the same day Steve Bracks deposed Jeff Kennett as premier.

As easy as Kouta made it look, it was never easy for him.

The loss of his father Dimitrios after a battle with cancer affected Kouta deeply.

So much so, that his entire 1998 season was a lost cause.

Kouta also suffered serious long-term injuries. It’s to his great credit that he overcame all these challenges.

It’s often been said of Anthony Koutoufides that he was the first of a new era of league footballers.

He was an athletic 6’2” type who could both run and mark, and it’s true that the athletic types have taken over today’s game.

But few realise that Kouta’s departure also signals the end of an era at Carlton.

In each of the 39 seasons since 1968, this proud club has been represented by at least one Carlton premiership player.

That sequence has now concluded with Kouta’s retirement.

Sadly, the fervent echoes of “Kou-ta” “Kout-ta” will no longer bounce off the walls of the old grandstands of Princes Park or the MCG.

But I say this to you Kouta:

You’ve been a credit to your family, to the Carlton Football Club and to all who genuinely hold this game near and dear.

This is very clear from the fact that tickets for your forthcoming testimonial dinner have long been sold-out

To the letter you’ve embodied the Carlton motto: mens sana in corpore sano – a healthy mind in a healthy body.

On the field you thrilled supporters with your genius.

Off the field, you carried yourself with grace, humility and dignity.

And to the end you were loyal.

The best way Carlton can repay that loyalty is to rise once again to the heights you helped take us to when you were at your peak.

Today is another step along that long road. but we have the final destination  firmly in sight. And we will get there.  

And so to all our special guests, ladies and  gentlemen . . enjoy the day.

And enjoy the fact that out there today some of Carlton’s  future Koutas are coming through the pack.

Thanks for listening.