Garry Crane

Recruited from Yallourn North in the Latrobe Valley, Garry Crane arrived at Princes Park with a reputation as a prolific ball-winner, having claimed back-to-back best and fairest awards in his local league. He quickly established himself as a fixture on the wing for the Blues, becoming renowned not just for his skill but for his fearless attack on the ball. Crane was a central figure in the club's golden era under Ron Barassi, forming a celebrated centreline combination with Bryan Quirk and Ian Robertson that provided the drive for Carlton's powerful sides of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Crane's standing as a big-game player is best illustrated by his performance in the 1968 Grand Final against Essendon, where he was widely judged as the best player on the ground for his tireless running and link-up play in a low-scoring slugfest. He backed this up by winning the club's Best and Fairest in 1969, a testament to his consistency during a period where the team was laden with superstars. A triple premiership player (1968, 1970, and 1972), Crane is remembered as one of the most courageous wingmen to wear the navy blue, eventually earning induction into the Carlton Hall of Fame.