Over the course of the 2015 AFL Trade Period, we’ll count down Carlton’s top-10 trades over the past 30 years.
Which stars reinvigorated their careers donning the Navy Blue? And who made Carlton their second home?
Coming in at No.5: Earl Spalding
The Trade: Carlton traded its first-round draft pick (5) to Melbourne in 1991 for Earl Spalding. With that selection the Dees picked up Jason Norrish who played 20 games for Melbourne between 1992 and 1994, before being traded to Fremantle.
After spending five years at Melbourne and conceding it was “going backwards”, Earl Spalding made it clear he wanted to leave the Dees.
In what was described as a “frantic” day of trading, Spalding elected not to go back home to Western Australia and instead moved to Princes Park, after the Blues tabled him an offer.
On October 24, 1991, The Canberra Times reported: “In another major draft move yesterday, Carlton also shocked by swapping its first-round draft choice for disgruntled Melbourne forward Earl Spalding.”
Earl Spalding as a Demon. (Photo: AFL Photos)
After the hysteria of the trade period subsided, Spalding, affectionately known as ‘Duke’ – thanks to the song ‘Duke of Earl’ – settled comfortably into Princes Park.
He made his debut in navy blue in Round 1, 1992 against the Brisbane Bears and went on to play 102 games for the club.
The Western Australian became a premiership player for Carlton in 1995, and in the same year placed fourth in the Blues’ best and fairest.
In the same premiership year he finished third in Carlton’s goal kicking and placed second in the team for marks.
The day Earl Spalding became a Carlton premiership player. (Photo: AFL Photos)
In a recent episode of Driving with Sam Pang, Spalding said he’ll always look back fondly on his time at Carlton – especially the ultimate victory in 1995.
“I’ve got great memories of the day, of the days after…it’s like you’re the kings of the town,” he said.
The forward’s last match was a win against archrival Collingwood at the MCG in Round 19, 1997.
Top Trades: #10 - Andrejs Everitt
Top Trades: #9 - Corey McKernan
Top Trades: #8 - Sam Docherty
Top Trades: #7 - Ron De Iulio
Top Trades: #6 - Adrian Hickmott
Who will make up the rest of the top 10? Stay tuned to carltonfc.com.au over the course of the AFL Trade Period to find out!
