Bruce Doull
Career : 1969 – 1986
Debut : Round 5, 1969 vs South Melbourne, aged 18 years, 234 days
Carlton Player No. 811
Games : 356
Goals : 22
Last Game : Grand Final, 1986 vs Hawthorn, aged 36 years, 16 days
Guernsey Nos. 4 (1969-71) and 11 (1972-86)
Height : 185 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight : 89 kg (14 stone)
DOB : 11 September, 1950
Premiership Player: 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982
Best and Fairest: 1974, 1977, 1980, 1984
Norm Smith Medal: 1981
Carlton Hall of Fame (1987)
Team of the Century: Half Back Flank
AFL Team of the Century: Half Back Flank
Bruce Doull was a champion. One the greatest defenders of all time, he was an outstanding competitor, a four-time Premiership player and Carlton Games Record holder until Craig Bradley came along – however we know less about him than dozens of others who managed just a handful of appearances. He was a fixture in Carlton teams for 15 years, and played in six Grand Finals, yet Bruce shunned publicity and rarely gave interviews. Instead, he let his football do the talking – and what a joy it was to watch him play!
He first came to Princes Park to play with the Under 19’s in 1966; a raw 15 year-old from Jacana with a conservative haircut, sideburns and a burning ambition to be a league footballer. But it took him until 1972 to claim a regular place in the senior side. Although no giant at 185 cm and 87 kg, he quickly showed a remarkable ability to “play tall” in the key post at centre half-back. Deceptively quick, beautifully balanced and a strong, reliable mark, he was equally as sound at full-back, in a pocket or on a flank.
In the ’72 Grand Final he announced his arrival on the top shelf of league football with an inspiring game on the taller, heavier Richmond champion Royce Hart. It was the highest-scoring decider ever. Richmond kicked 22 goals – but Carlton booted 28 to claim our eleventh flag. Doull was superb in keeping Hart to a handful of possessions and two goals. His concentration, cat-like reflexes and ice-cool response under pressure marked him as something special. Not surprisingly, the media clamoured for information about him. But his uneasy relationship with them soured completely after he was apparently misquoted in one of his first interviews. From then until his retirement, Bruce was off limits. No quotes, no more comments – thanks.
Afterward, and throughout his long career, Doull was a folk hero at Princes Park. Supporters loved his no-nonsense, honest approach, his courage and his consistency. In keeping with his shy nature is the story of his playing numbers. In his first three seasons, he wore number 4, but was never comfortable in the locker room with the attention lavished upon some of the club’s biggest stars, like Sergio Silvagni (number 1), John Nicholls (2), Kevin Hall (3), Syd Jackson (5) and Garry Crane (6). Before the ’72 season, he asked for and was given guernsey number 11, which had become available with the retirement of another great Carlton defender in John “Ragsy” Goold.
With his new number, sporting even longer sideburns and hair to his shoulders, he took on and beat the best in the business, week after week. He won Carlton’s Best and Fairest award in 1974, then followed up in ’77, ’80 and ’84. In 1979 he picked up his second Premiership medal when the Blues knocked over Collingwood, and two years later he was on the dias again on Grand Final day, 1981. Carlton came from 21 points down in the third quarter to vanquish the Magpies yet again – by 20 points – in Doull’s finest hour. Impassable at half-back all day, he beat four opponents and was a worthy winner of the Norm Smith medal.
Simon Wiggins
Career : 2001 – 2010
Debut : Round 5, 2001 vs St Kilda, aged 18 years, 229 days
Carlton Player No. 1045
Games : 116
Goals : 36
Last Game : Elimination Final, 2009 vs Brisbane, aged 26 years, 359 days
Guernsey No. 34
Height : 186 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight : 81 kg (12 stone, 11 lbs.)
DOB : 11 September, 1982
The glue that holds any football club together is loyalty, and no quality is more highly respected than that which sees an individual stick to their chosen colours through good times and bad, for better or for worse. Simon Wiggins fitted precisely into that category throughout his decade-long, 116-game career with the Navy Blues from 2001 to 2010, bringing dedication and big-hearted commitment to a Carlton side at its lowest ebb in our club’s long and proud history.
Nicknamed ‘Wiggo,’ ‘The Wiggler’ or ‘The Chief’ (after Chief Clancy Wiggum; a character from the hit television show The Simpsons) Simon was drafted by the Blues from the Tassie Mariners Under 18 side, after rising to prominence as an outstanding junior with the Glenorchy Magpies. Carlton’s third selection in the 2000 National Draft (number 15 overall), he is the younger brother of Patrick Wiggins, who was himself recruited by the Western Bulldogs in 1999. A tall, mobile ruckman, Patrick managed only 12 senior games in an injury-ravaged, three-season stay at the Western Oval.
Like Patrick, Simon battled hamstring problems throughout his career, as well as knee and shoulder injuries. Versatile, if somewhat prone to inconsistency, he never managed to play out a full season with Carlton’s senior team, but his professional attitude and cheerful demeanour helped keep spirits up at Princes Park, even as the Navy Blues languished on the lower rungs of the ladder in seven of Wiggo’s ten seasons. In fact, the only finals match of Simon’s career was his last; Carlton’s 2009 Elimination Final loss to Brisbane at the Gabba. He was retained on the Blues’ list in 2010, but couldn’t force his way back into a steadily-improving young team, and so retired at year’s end.