The news that West Coast captain Chris Judd has returned home to Victoria to continue his stellar career with Carlton shapes as one of the biggest football stories of the decade. 

But it is not the first time that a high-profile player has joined the Blues in sensational circumstances. From Australian football’s first stuttering steps toward professionalism in the first decade of last century, through to the elite pathway programs of the modern era, some of the biggest names in the game have chosen to switch clubs to play and/or coach at Princes Park.

Here, in historical order, the Blueseum proudly presents the stories of eight other players who made headlines by switching their allegiance to Carlton and helping to shape the glorious history of the Old Dark Navy Blues.

1. BRIGHTON DIGGINS (1938)

In 1937, Carlton was a team in danger of losing momentum. The Blues had been finalists in 1933, 1935 & ’36, but were obvious underachievers.  By then, CarltonVice-President Kenneth Luke was convinced that South Melbourne’s 1933 Premiership ruckman Brighton Diggins (who was in dispute with his club) was the man Carlton needed as its next coach, and made it his mission to get his man. Despite a more lucrative offer from the Perth Football Club, Diggins finally agreed on terms to captain-coach at Princes Park in 1938.

By then, Diggins was thirty-one years old, but he pushed himself as hard as he pushed his team. Training was relentless, yet innovative, and when the season began, the Blues were fit and ready. The turning point came mid-season, when Carlton rallied late in the game to snatch a one point win over arch-rivals Richmond in a fierce, physical encounter. With their confidence boosted, the Blues finished on top of the ladder and three weeks later, faced Collingwood in the Grand Final.

On that long yearned-for day – 23 years after our previous flag win - Carlton won a thriller by 13 points before a record crowd of 96,834. Rover Jack Hale was generally considered Best on Ground, but Diggins wasn’t far behind. Following wild celebrations at the MCG, Brighton jumped into a car with some teammates - and ended up in Adelaide!

2. ERN HENFRY (1947)

In 1944, while on leave from the RAAF in Melbourne, Ern Henfry played two games for Carlton on permit - and stunned the club with his ability. At 183 cms and 83 kg he was big for a centreman, but his wonderful foot skills, his pace and his evasiveness made him a match-winner, and the Blues were hell-bent on getting him to Princes Park.

When the War ended in 1945, and Henfry returned to his pre-war job as a bank officer, an influential Carlton supporter arranged for him to be transferred to Melbourne. Carlton then approached Perth to clear him, but the Redlegs refused and Henfry was forced to sit out the entire 1946 season.

Then, early in 1947, Carlton sprung a huge surprise by nominating Henfry as its captain for that year - after he had played just two games for the club. It turned out to be an inspired move. This time, Carlton’s appeal to the ANFC against Perth’s refusal to clear him was successful, and the Blues had a new and brilliant leader.

Henfry’s astute captaincy had an immediate impact, and under veteran coach Percy Bentley, Carlton won its way into the ’47 Grand Final against Essendon. In a tough and desperate affair, Henfry’s duel with the Bombers’ champion Dick Reynolds in the middle was crucial.  He more than held his own early, before gaining the upper hand in the last quarter as Carlton won a thriller by a solitary point, thanks to a snap goal in the dying seconds by Fred Stafford. Henfry’s dream debut season was then capped off when he shared Carlton’s Best & Fairest award with Bert Deacon, who also won that year’s Brownlow Medal.

3. RON BARASSI (1965)

Two days before Christmas 1964, the Carlton Football Club dropped a bombshell on every other VFL club by announcing that it had signed Melbourne legend and six time Premiership player Ron Barassi as captain-coach of the Blues for three years. The news rocked football to its foundations.

At 178 cm and 83 kg Barassi was a solid type, not particularly blessed with an abundance of football talent. But he was tough, courageous and an inspirational leader who hated to lose any sort of contest. In Melbourne’s golden era of 1953 to 1964, Ron played in no fewer than eight Grand Finals, winning six Premierships - two as captain. Wearing the same number as his father (31) he was the game’s premier ruck-rover and its most recognisable figure.

Meanwhile, at Princes Park the Blues were in turmoil. Torn by disputes and divided loyalties, Carlton had made the finals only five times since their last Premiership in 1947. It was time for swift and drastic action. A reform group of committeemen and influential supporters, headed by club dentist George Harris and former star back pocket Laurie Kerr swept to power in an election landslide on December 7, 1964.  Harris became the new President. He immediately declared the position of senior coach vacant, and called for nominations. More than twenty hopefuls replied, including the incumbent, Ken Hands. But none were interviewed - because Harris had heard a whisper that Barassi was interested in spreading his wings into coaching.

Harris contacted Barassi and arranged a meeting. After long discussions, Ron expressed interest and promised a quick answer. The following morning he called back, saying; "I'm sorry. I've changed my mind. I can't leave Melbourne." Harris however refused the rebuff. At seven o'clock the next morning he was back on the phone to Barassi. It took three hours more of earnest discussion, but when Harris did eventually put the phone down, Barassi was the new captain-coach of Carlton.

Barassi retired as a player late in the '68 season and guided the Blues into the Grand Final from the coaches box. Before more than 112,000 people at the MCG, Carlton won a cliff-hanger by 3 points. The Blues' first flag for 21 years made Barassi the toast of Lygon St.

Two years later came Barassi’s finest hour. At half time in the 1970 Grand Final, Carlton trailed Collingwood by 44 points. With nothing to lose, he gambled on a bold tactic that he had nurtured for years, telling his team to play on at every opportunity and to use handball to keep the ball moving at all costs. He also made some astute positional changes and sent 19th man Ted Hopkins on to the ground in a forward pocket. In one of the greatest comebacks in finals history, Hopkins ran riot, kicking four goals as the Blues steamrolled Collingwood to win by 10 points.

4. ALEX JESAULENKO (1967)

The son of Ukrainian migrants who settled in Canberra after World War II, Jesaulenko played soccer and rugby as a boy. He was 14 before he discovered Aussie Rules, but only five years later was a star in the local competition. Carlton soon had him in their sights, but North Melbourne swooped first and signed Alex on a pre-contract agreement.

While Carlton’s recruiters were certainly miffed, they could not be deterred. After convincing Alex and his parents that Princes Park offered greater opportunities, they found a loophole in the regulations (Carlton-supporting politician the late Don Chipp was instrumental in this), and, much to the disgust of the Kangaroos, successfully appealed to have North’s contract ruled invalid by the ANFC.

In the summer of 1966, Jesaulenko arrived at Princes Park, where his form in training and pre-season trial matches was nothing short of sensational.

Jezza played 256 memorable games for Carlton - none more so than the fabled 1970 Grand Final where took his glorious “Mark of the Century” over Collingwood’s Graham Jenkin. He was a star in four Carlton Grand Final victories; in 1968, 1970, 1972 and 1979. He was our leading goal kicker in 1969 (66 goals), 1970 (115) and 1971 (56), Best & Fairest in 1975, captain in 1974-75 and captain-coach in 1978-79 - a truly outstanding record.
 

5. FRANK MARCHESANI (1981)

When struggling Fitzroy unveiled Frank Marchesani in 1980, their tall, pacey recruit from Marcellin College made a huge impression. A smooth-striding wingman who loved kicking goals, he thrilled the Lions’ supporters in his 16 matches, won Recruit of the Year, and was seen by many as a saviour of the club.

That was until late the off-season, when Marchesani shocked Fitzroy by requesting a transfer to Carlton. The fact of the matter was that Frank was unhappy at Fitzroy. He had friends playing at Carlton, so the Blues were his preferred destination, but he was intent on a move regardless.

Prior to the 1982 Grand Final, staged before more than 107,000 people at the MCG, Carlton coach David Parkin tried to unsettle Richmond by sending 22 players (including Marchesani and David Clarke – who were not part of the selected side) out on to the ground prior to the bounce. As the teams made for their positions after the toss, that pair then disappeared up the race to allow Wayne Johnston and Ken Hunter to take their places.

Carlton routed Richmond by 18 points in a great victory remembered for Johnston and Mike Fitzpatrick’s dominance of the centre, and Bruce Doull’s amusing encounter with a female streaker.

6. DAVID RHYS-JONES (1985)

When South Melbourne was transplanted to Sydney in the early eighties, Rhys-Jones was one of a handful of Swans who asked for a clearance. Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that “Rhys” was on his way to Princes Park for the 1985 season. The news was not greeted warmly by many Blues supporters, and Rhys-Jones struggled for wide acceptance in his first two seasons - especially when some brilliant games were indispersed with continued suspensions.

All that changed however, on Grand Final day in 1987. Carlton coach Robert Walls created huge surprise early by assigning Rhys-Jones to Hawthorn’s trump card - their champion centre half-forward Dermott Brereton. The Hawthorn star was taller and heavier, but Rhys-Jones played superb, disciplined football all day and Brereton was hardly sighted.

Carlton won its 15th Premiership by 33 points, and Rhys-Jones won the Norm Smith Medal and the plaudits (at last) of every Carlton fan.

“Rhys” went on to play 106 games and score 73 goals for the Blues in a much-interrupted career from 1985 to 1992. It’s a pity that his outstanding natural ability was overshadowed by the fact that he was reported more times in his career than any other VFL/AFL player.

7. STEPHEN KERNAHAN (1986)

The “Stephen Kernahan to Carlton” story began in 1979, when a sixteen year-old, tall, skinny forward from South Australia - son of Glenelg Football Club legend Harry Kernahan – was one of the stars of the carnival. The chase for his signature had begun, with Essendon, Melbourne and Carlton leading the pack. The youngster continued to impress as he rose through the ranks at Glenelg, where he made his senior debut in 1981.  In ’82, after discussions with all three VFL clubs, Stephen finally agreed to sign with Carlton (following a personal invitation from his football idol Bruce Doull) but he honoured his father’s wishes with the proviso that he would only transfer across when Glenelg had won another SANFL Premiership.

At last, in 1985, the Bays beat North Adelaide in the SANFL Grand Final to win only their third flag after a 12-year drought.  Alternating between the key forward posts, Kernahan was unstoppable all day to be unanimously voted best-on-ground. He was the club’s leading goal-kicker for the second time, on the way to being named All-Australian centre half-forward. No wonder the phone ran hot between Adelaide and Princes Park in the days after that Grand Final!

After 136 games and 290 goals in Glenelg’s black and gold, Sticks arrived at Carlton in 1986 to join a Blues outfit shaping as a flag threat under new coach Robert Walls. By then a seasoned 22 year-old, scaling 196cm and 97kg, Kernahan slotted straight into the team and made an immediate impact as a key forward.

Early in the following year, Carlton shocked the football world by announcing that Stephen Kernahan, after less than 30 games for the club, would captain the Blues in season 1987. In hindsight it was a masterstroke, but at the time the decision was widely questioned.

8. GREG WILLIAMS (1992)

One of the most brilliant and controversial players of all time, Greg “Diesel” Williams was twice rejected by Carlton as a youngster because he lacked natural leg speed. Nevertheless, he went on to carve his name into AFL history as a champion centreman at Geelong and Sydney, before returning to Princes Park and Premiership glory with the Blues. For sheer ball-getting ability, tenacity, and pin-point disposal by hand or by foot, Williams had few peers.
  
Geelong opened the door to fame for Williams when he made his VFL senior debut in the blue and white hoops against Fitzroy at Kardinia Park in March 1984. The Cats’ centreline that day featured another debutante in Gary Ablett, alongside Greg Williams and Michael Turner - but it was Williams who dominated the game. His 38 possessions brought him newspaper headlines and three Brownlow Medal votes from the umpires. Sometime during the following week, Turner began calling Williams “Diesel” (because he was slow, but reliable) and one of the most familiar of all football nick-names stuck.

Williams later claimed that he would have been happy to stay at Geelong (and told the Cats that he would stay) for a reasonable increase in his contract from $45,000 to $50,000 for 1986.  Unbelievably, they refused, saying that a rise for one meant a rise for all, and that was out of the question. So “Diesel” became a Swan - on somewhere near twice the money that Geelong had paid him.

With Sydney, Williams linked up with a galaxy of stars poached from other clubs, and immediately kicked sand into Geelong’s face by  winning the 1986 Brownlow Medal, in a tie with Hawthorn’s Robert Dipierdomenico. Surrounded by classy, quick moving team-mates, Williams’ uncanny ability to win the ball in heavy traffic, then to fire it through the smallest gap with a lightning handpass off either hand, quickly made him the most influential player in the game. And when he found the space and time, his kicking skills were almost as good.

By mid-year of 1991 however, Williams had had enough of Sydney. His knees were showing signs of wear and tear from the hours of training and playing each week, many of the original Sydney Swans had been sold off or retired, and his dream of playing in a Premiership team seemed further away than ever. After 107 games and 118 goals in the red and white, it was time for a fresh start at a new club.

Eventually, Williams joined Carlton in a complicated three-way deal that saw promising Blues full-forward Simon Minton-Connell and Fitzroy speedster Darren Kappler packed off to Sydney, while the Lions added Blues Peter Sartori and Ashley Matthews to their list. Williams’ contract at Carlton was rumoured to be more than $350,000 per year, and it proved to be worth every cent.

Diggins, Barassi, Marchesani, Williams, Kernahan, Henfry, Rhys-Jones and Jesaulenko – all great Carlton names in one way or another.  The impact on the game of their mere arrival – much like Chris Judd – was enough to set the tongues wagging in footy discussions across the country.

For a fully-linked version of this article, including links to more complete biographies for each of our selected Blues, click here.