The supporters enjoyed the activities around the ground with the Hyundai Zurf races once again proving very popular with both the young and the not so young Carlton fans.
Carlton President Stephen Kernahan spoke prior to the highlight of the day, the player presentation on the main stage at 1:00pm. In officially welcoming the huge crowd, Kernahan said the day was about the members and supporters.
“Thank you being with us here today and thank you to so many of you who have already joined as members of the Carlton Football Club in 2012. Our aim is 50,000 members this year and we are well on the way. We already have well over 30,000, 20% up on this time last year," Kernahan said.
“On the field we want to continue to improve and that means a top four finish. That is our aim and we want you to be part of this. Finishing in the top four is the first goal, anything is possible after that.
“Let’s stick together and all play our role to make 2012 a year to remember for the Carlton Football Club. As our slogan says, I AM CARLTON, remember to always say it with pride,” Kernahan added before introducing senior coach Brett Ratten.
It was then time to hear from Brett Ratten before the presentation of every player on the stage. The only players missing were Andrew Carrazzo who was at home with his family and Tom Bell who was home in Queensland recovering from injury.
After each player was presented with their 2012 guernsey the entire team remained on stage to sing the theme song, assisted by over 8,000 in the ‘Carlton chorus’.
Prior to the presentation the players were involved in the all the activities from 11:00am with the most popular locations being the Hyundai autograph marquee, Mars activity centre, in particular Ratten’s Run for the youngsters, the Visy environmentally friendly marquee and the TeleChoice marquee, where thousands of footballs were given away.
Other highlights for the young supporters were the activities on the ground with the players helping out while the adults had the opportunity to see the full range of Hyundai vehicles including the brand new Hyundai Veloster which took the eye of many in the crowd and is sure to be another big seller for Hyundai.
