Blake Caracella

Selected by Essendon in the 1994 National draft at pick 10, Caracella finally debuted with the Bombers in 1997. What had held him back was his lack of bulk—he came to the club weighing only 74 kg—however, he rectified this by pushing his playing weight up to 83 kg prior to his AFL debut. Caracella quickly established himself in the side as a skilful small forward/goalsneak, who had patience and poise. He earned himself an AFL Rising Star nomination for his work.

He was a vital part of Essendon's premiership win in 2000, contributing 35 goals for the season.

Caracella was a late inclusion to represent Australia in the first Test of the two-Test series in the 2000 International Rules Series against Ireland. He starred in the first Test, kicking a hat-trick of three-pointers (overs) during the final quarter to help secure a come-from-behind victory, scoring four overs in total.[1] He was also among the best players for the second Test, scoring an additional three overs and helping Australia break Ireland's three-match winning streak. Caracella returned the next year and scored the only goal for Australia in the first Test as well an over in the same Test. He was less impactful in the second Test when Ireland reclaimed the title.

At the end of 2002, he was controversially traded to the Brisbane Lions.[2]

Caracella's stay in Brisbane only lasted two years, during which he played 34 games, including the Lions' 2003 premiership-winning team and also their unsuccessful 2004 AFL Grand Final side. Reasons cited for his trade from both Essendon and Brisbane was to ease the strain of salary cap restrictions at both clubs.[3]

Caracella was selected by Collingwood in the 2005 pre-season draft, the team that he supported as a child.

In 2005, Caracella had a solid year at Collingwood (apart from a lean patch in the final seven rounds where he only managed three goals, as well as missing Round 20), booting 34 goals in total and finished tenth in the Copeland Trophy.

In 2006, Caracella suffered a career-ending neck injury. Whilst contesting a loose ball against the Lions, Caracella slipped, and former teammate Tim Notting's hip accidentally collected his head, fracturing several vertebrae and bruising his spinal cord. At the time, field umpire Brett Allen did not consider the contact sufficient to award a free kick for high contact. The injury horrified the football community, drawing comparisons to the quadriplegia suffered by Footscray's Neil Sachse in the 1970s.[4]

On Wednesday, 2 August, Caracella announced his retirement. At the press conference, Caracella revealed that scans had shown his spinal column was naturally narrower than average.[5] This condition would have ruled out a career in any professional contact sport had it been diagnosed earlier.[6]