Carlton fans must take the good with the bad from Eddie Betts, writes Jon Ralph

Eddie Betts will be 33 when he runs out in a Carlton jumper again and to many his return went against the Blues’ lengthy rebuild. But Jon Ralph says supporters must embrace Betts’ return wholeheartedly.

Eddie Betts’ first possession of the summer for Carlton was a circus trick that encapsulated the kind of season ahead for the Blues’ returning cult hero.

In the Blues’ third day of pre-season Betts sauntered onto the training track at 9am unannounced, with the media pack literally springing to their feet to capture his every move.
Eddie and his big shorts were back, and as the sun broke through the clouds all was good with the world for Carlton fans.

Immediately thrown into a handball drill where the other team attempted to win back possession, Betts turned a ho-hum drill into something extraordinary.

That first touch of the Sherrin as Will Setterfield surged to dispossess him?

A quicksilver handball through Setterfield’s legs that hit the target and released a teammate into space.

Eddie Betts is back at Carlton — to entertain, to set up his post-football career, to escape an imploding Adelaide, to potentially win a premiership at Carlton.

Yet in less than three weeks Betts turns 33, with his every move in season 2020 to be scrutinised just as much as his appearance at a low-key training session in the first week of November.

The same fans who have trumpeted his return could by May by kicking him on Twitter if he doesn’t give bang for buck.

So here is the way Carlton fans should approach what could be the final season for one of the most entertaining careers of the modern era.

Enjoy the transcendent, jaw-dropping moments that have to be seen to be believed and just accept they will come with games where Betts just never fires a shot.

Eddie Betts returns to pre-season at Carlton after being traded from Adelaide. Picture: AAP Image/Sean Garnsworthy.

Collingwood v Carlton. MCG. Eddie Betts enjoys a last qtr goal

Stream the full or condensed replay of the 2019 Toyota AFL Grand Final on KAYO SPORTS. Get your 14 day free trial and start streaming instantly >

At 33 he will have games where Adam Saad or Brayden Maynard or Dylan Grimes or Brad Sheppard go to Betts at the first bounce and make his life torture.

Like the Bombers did in Round 19 when Betts went goalless, Essendon won by 21 points at Adelaide Oval and the critics came for the 32-year-old.

But in maybe half a dozen contests he will find a way to turn the game with the brilliance that will also add 5000 members and half a million to Carlton’s bottom line.

And that will be worth the risk Carlton has taken.

MORE AFL OFF-SEASON NEWS:

Hawthorn father-son prospect Finn Maginness an AFL draft bolter likened to Sydney’s Josh Kennedy

Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell tapped for key AFL job

AFL: Several clubs hit the training track in preparation for season 2020

As coach David Teague said on Wednesday, Betts’ contribution will never be measured on his brilliance alone.

“We were looking to add a bit of small forward talent in our group and Eddie brings that but he brings so much more. He brings a lot off field, he will be a great leader for this group. I know some of the older guys were like, ”Get him back, we want him back”.

“They want him at this footy club, the fans want him back and when he said he wanted to come back and wanted to enjoy his footy, it was something I thought it would work well and his performance on-field as well as the leadership will work well for us.

“I have heard some of the media reports but we challenge every decision.

“There are really good football brains there (at list management) and it would be boring if we were all the same.

“There wasn’t a lot of debate around it. It was more on our strategy going forward.”

Carlton fans have embraced Eddie Betts’ return despite the veteran being in the twilight of his career.

Betts doesn’t really fit into a pure list management strategy that includes stockpiling a million kids and playing them exclusively.

But who runs with that strategy anyway, in an era where Luke Hodge was a perfect addition to the young Lions and Hawthorn consistently added seasoned veterans to the A-grade talents they had drafted.

“Is he part of the youth going forward? No, but he brings leadership and it was something we needed and it was an area we needed to continue to grow.

“If it wasn’t Eddie we would have got a Shaun Burgoyne or someone like that who would have helped our leadership.

The fact I had a relationship with him made it easier to get him here, but we are excited to have him.”

Originally published as Carlton fans must take the good with the bad from Eddie Betts, writes Jon Ralph