IT was a sunny afternoon the Marvel Stadium when Carlton ran out against Gold Coast in Round 20 of 2014.
After an up-and-down year, Carlton headed into the clash with an air of confidence having won two of its last four games – not dissimilar to how they currently sit in 2019.
On the other side of the bounce, the Gold Coast Suns were in the hunt for their first finals series heading into the clash at Marvel Stadium.
But with skipper Gary Ablett missing for the clash, the Suns had a huge task ahead of them if they were to down the Blues.
It was a day dominated by the Carlton big guns of Chris Judd (his last win), Kade Simpson, Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs, who ran rampant against a lacklustre Gold Coast team.
But it was young Blue Tom Bell who stole the show, kicking a career-high four goals to help the team to a resounding 39-point win.
"The way he has come in and wanted to learn his craft... he has spent more time in the coaches' office than any other player."
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) July 19, 2019
Big praise for Josh Deluca as he found out he would be making his debut this weekend. #BoundByBlue pic.twitter.com/5gN2375zla
In just his 26th game for the club, Bell impressed across the ground, equally as influential in the midfield as he was up forward. He would finish the day with 19 disposals and 10 marks to go with his bag of goals.
Bell worked well up forward with Jarrad Waite, with the two combining for nine of the team’s 14 majors.
Consistent throughout the day, Bell’s finest moment came in the third quarter when he marked deep in the forward line. Pinned against the boundary line, the Blue kicked truly to send the ball sailing through the middle to extend the team’s lead to 52 points.
Bell would go on to play 51 games for the Blues, before joining the Lions in 2016.
Regardless of where he would finish his career, the big-bodied Bell definitely gave the Blues something to cheer about that day in 2014. It was a memorable moment in Carlton’s brief history against the Suns.
