The excitement continues to build at Carlton with 7,000 Carlton supporters attending the Hyundai Blues Family Day at MC Labour Park. While there were many activities and attractions for the supporters to see and be involved with, it was the Carlton players who were the real attractions for the Carlton faithful.

The players were involved in many of the activities and spent hours with the supporters signing autographs and talking about the upcoming season. Not surprising was the long line up to get the autographs of Chris Judd, Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Andrew Carrazzo with supporters very patient waiting their turn for the opportunity to speak to the four Carlton stars who were together on the Hyundai stand prior to the player presentation.

Carlton President Richard Pratt welcomed everyone to the day and introduced Senior Coach Brett Ratten for the official player presentation. Ratten said he was looking forward to the NAB Cup matches starting next week as the side begins the final preparations for round one against Richmond at the MCG on Thursday evening prior to Easter.

“The round one match is our home game and it is the AFL season opener so we want a big Carlton crowd to be at the MCG to support the team. We are looking forward to a good start to the season and supporters will be able to get involved in the round one match on the Thursday night and have a rest the next day as it is Good Friday,” Ratten said.

Ratten then introduced the players in guernsey number order with each player being presented with their 2008 playing guernsey by a lucky winner from the day’s raffle. While there was plenty of noise from the crowd as each player was introduced the biggest cheers were for two of Carlton’s new recruits Chris Judd, Matthew Kreuzer and also for Nick Stevens who is returning after missing all but three games in 2007 due to a neck injury.

Everyone was able to see the presentations to the players thanks to the big screen that was erected on the ground next to the stage. This screen ensured the on-stage entertainment throughout the day was easy for everyone to see, including the Blues Brothers tribute band and the comedian.

A very popular activity was the Hyundai ‘Zurf’ competition. This provided some fun entertainment for those watching as well as those competing in the races to get their PVC ‘zurf’ to the finish line. The two PVC zurf cylinders each had two people inside and they pushed and ran inside the zurf to beat the other to the finish.

The enthusiasm and excitement at the day continued to add to the already positive feel around the club. There is no doubt the off-field resurgence of the Carlton Football Club is continuing and as Brett Ratten said the success of this great club relies on the power of the many Carlton supporters getting together as part of the club to build a successful future.

Adding to the success of the day was the sale of 850 Memberships taking the 2008 Membership total to just over 25,000. With further support from the thousands of Carlton fans who have yet to commitasmembers in 2008, there is every chance that a new record membership of over 40,000 will be reached this year.

After some less that favourable weather in the days leading up to the day it was incredible that such a warm sunny day was served up for this important day for the Carlton Football Club. Perhaps it is fitting that things really are starting to take shape at Carlton, even the weather is on the side of the Blues in 2008.

If the excitement and enthusiasm displayed at the Hyundai Blues Family Day is any indication, look out for Carlton, on and off the field in 2008!