IT'S 10 years now since Jarrad Waite last laced a boot for the old dark Navy Blues. That happened in the final home and away round of 2014, in what ended as a fiercely-contested draw.

That game at the MCG brought down the curtain on 184 Carlton games through 12 seasons for Waite, his late father Vin having turned out for 153 of his own through 10 - amongst them the meritorious 1970 and ’72 Grand Finals.

Fast forward to 2024, and Waite, now 41, this week completed a sentimental journey back to the old Carlton ground, together with his wife Jackie and their two sons Teddy and Robbie. Together the boys furthered the tradition with a spirited kick to kick on the hallowed turf and they later posed for a photograph’s by Dad’s and Pop’s No.30 locker, now Charlie Curnow’s as the keeper.

And on the eve of the 1000th senior match collectively involving Carlton’s AFL and AFLW teams at the old Carlton ground, Waite took time to reflect on his place in history.

“When I left I was sad to leave the club because of the history I personally had with it . . . but to be able to come back once I retired and bring my kids down . . . it’s just great to renew those connections I have made,” Waite said.

“This is such a great ground. It was the best feeling just driving here to play. It was incredibly exciting, as with the ’G. You knew it was ‘game on’. It’s a special place for me and a special place for my family.”

Waite’s earliest memory of the Carlton ground relates to a past players gathering convened in the since-demolished  Richard Pratt Stand.

“I remember being downstairs in the past players room, which ended up a gym with the end of the Heatley Stand,” Waite said.

“I remember heading up to the Heatley with my sisters and seeing Mil Hanna, Brad Pearce and ‘Sticks’ Kernahan. I must have been 12 or 13 at the time, that was as awesome experience and it’s the first memory I have of Carlton.”  

Another recollection of the club’s spiritual home relates to the 14th round match with Melbourne in 2003, when he bravely took to the field the day after his father’s sudden passing. Many have asked how Waite found the wherewithal to take to the field in that one, and he’s often reflected on the moment.

“I was 20 at the time, in my second year here, and it took a while to cement my place under Denis (Pagan). At the time I was very young and naïve, but it would probably have been harder for me to get through that if I wasn’t,” Waite said.

“Coming into the club and seeing Dad’s name on the locker was a constant reminder, but at the same time Carlton was probably the best place to be because I had a lot of good people around me like Andrew McKay and ‘Ratts’ (Brett Ratten) who really looked after me through that period.

“That’s why I love the club so much and is why at any opportunity I love coming back.”

Waite was amongst  the 22 Carlton players who joined Coach Denis Pagan in forming a guard of honour for John Nicholls, as he hoisted the matchday football to the heavens in the aftermath of that final AFL match at the ground – the 9th Round contest with Melbourne on Saturday, May 21, 2005.

“That was a really emotional day for a lot of people,” Waite recalled. “We weren’t going great as a footy club back then, but the place was packed to the rafters, as it always was.

“I remember ‘Nick’ (John Nicholls) taking the ball from ‘Kouta’ (Anthony Koutoufides) then holding the ball up through the guard of honour on the way out. Most of us players were pretty young then, but you look back on it now with great pride to be part of something like it.”     

Ten years on from his last Carlton game as a player, Waite takes comfort in the knowledge that the AFLW players are upholding the tradition at the dark Navy Blue bastion, and will continue to do so for as long as the ball is bounced there on matchdays.

That said, he also has a greater understanding of the finite life of a senior League footballer.

“You’re just a small part of the bigger thing – part of a club that has been around for a long, long time and hopefully for a lot longer,” Waite said. “That is why I cherish the time that I was here, because Carlton means a lot to myself, my family and a lot of other people as well.

“I was just a small part of it, but hopefully I helped a little bit along the way.”