Norman

Karl Norman was only on the Carlton list for 3 seasons, but had a controversial stay. Drafted at #79 in the 2002 National Draft, Norman immediately caught the eye of Bullants watchers with his long kicking, aggression on the ball, and arm tattoo. Over his first two years at Carlton, Norman was seen as a shining light in the development of our key position players with strong performances in the seconds and some great early games at Carlton in 2004, leading to a National Rising Star nomination in 2004 after an amazing rebounding game against the Cats.

Unfortunately, Norman was also in the press for personal reasons - a newspaper report about being late to training, another about alleged damage to a rental accommodation, and for an all-nighter with Laurence Angwin in early 2004. There is always rumour in football, but it's clear somewhere along the lines that Carlton gave up on more chances for Norman early in 2005, and he stayed in the Bullants - still performing - until ultimately delisted at the end of 2005.

Norman will be remembered as one who had heaps of ability, but ultimately another in a long list of country lads who never liked the city life.

Great article covering Norman's football career after the Blues: https://kbonreflection.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/karl/

Part of the article:

From: https://kbonreflection.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/karl/

He had no idea that there had been any interest in him from AFL recruiters. “But I did hear later on that Carlton were up at Lavington for the Grand Final,” he says.

So when the Blues grabbed him as a ‘smokey’, chosen at pick 79 in the November draft of 2002, it was a surprise. Rarely does a player in the modern era arrive in League football from beyond the elite system. Thus, Carlton fans surmised, this bloke must be something special.

His improvement was steady. Solid form in defence with the Northern Bullants earned him seven AFL games in his first season.

Then things went awry. His name was emblazoned across the sporting pages early in 2004, when he and Laurence Angwin had an ‘all-nighter’ and arrived for Sunday morning training under the weather.

Angwin was sacked, Norman was given a reprieve and proceeded to repay the faith that the Blues’ senior players had shown by hanging onto him. A brilliant rebounding game against Geelong earned him a Rising Star nomination. A solid 2004 saw him make 16 senior appearances and be spoken of as one of the key planks in a possible Carlton revival.

But after four early games the following season, he was relegated to VFL ranks, where he continued to churn out consistent performances.

“Peter Dean and old ‘Libba’, who were coaching at the Bullants, kept telling me to keep battling away; that my form was pretty good. We ended up getting done in the Preliminary Final that year. I got a bit disheartened, though. I just hated the city….And the total emphasis on football…. It was a relief, in a way, when they delisted me. I couldn’t wait to get out of the place.”