By Patrick Hatch and Alex Crowe
From Lygon Street’s cafes to musical superstar Robbie Wiliams’ bed, the celebrations of Carlton’s two-point semi-final win over Melbourne on Friday night have gone global.
The English pop star recorded himself singing a musical tribute for Blues ruckman Tom De Koning, “De Koning’s in the air”, to the tune of Australian singer John Paul Young’s 1977 hit Love Is in the Air in a video posted to Carlton’s social media pages on Saturday.
Blues fans Shane Britter with his kids Charlie, 9, and Harvey, 11, on Lygon Street in Carlton.Credit: Penny Stephens
Carlton fans are flying high after Friday night’s stunning last-gasp result at the MCG in front of more than 96,000 fans, which secured the Blues a spot in the preliminary final against the Brisbane Lions next weekend.
“My god,” Williams was recorded saying after the win. “I can’t believe it.”
“De Koning’s in the air, everywhere I look around. De Koning’s everywhere, leaving bodies on the ground.
“And he’s better than his brother and his better than his dad.
“There’s only one Thomas De Koning and he’s the best one we’ll ever have.”
Closer to home, Blues diehards from around Melbourne gravitated to the club’s spiritual home on Lygon Street in Carlton on Saturday.
With the Baggers playing finals footy for the first time in a decade, Carlton flags and posters returned to windows along the famous Italian dining strip. Supporters wore matching caps, jerseys and scarves as they celebrated the club’s inner Melbourne roots.
The Anning family on Lygon Street in Carlton after the Blues win on Friday.Credit: Penny Stephens
Shane Britter has been a Blues fan for 48 years – since the day his grandfather arrived at hospital the morning he was born and tied a Carlton scarf to the end of his crib. “It’s still the scarf I wear to the football,” he said.
“When I was a kid, when Carlton won you’d come to Lygon Street – my grandparents used to bring me here the day after a game, it was always the heartland.”
Carlton’s on-field renaissance means he’s passing on that ritual to his children, Harvey, 11, and Charlie, 9, and travelled from East Bentleigh on Saturday for lunch and ice cream.
“Harvey was only one when we last played finals last time and Charlie hasn’t seen any,” Britter said.
Noreen Anning and three generations of her family joined the pilgrimage to Lygon Street for coffee and to absorb the atmosphere. When she immigrated from Scotland in 1971, Noreen didn’t know anything about the local game.
“Then I saw on television that beautiful Alex Jesaulenko mark,” she said. “I looked at the TV and I thought: wow, that’s just something special, so that got me involved”.
Noreen has passed that passion down to her children and grandchildren. Her husband David backs Hawthorn, but happens to be the nephew of former Blues vice captain John Chick and has a Carlton membership too.
An army of Blues fans will be online on Monday trying to book tickets to the clash in Brisbane next weekend.
“If we get tickets, we’ll all try to get there,” Noreen said, capturing the cautious hope bubbling up among long-suffering Blues supporters. “Do we dare to dream?”
Carlton supporter Michael Ross from Bunbury, WA. He bought his flight a month ago, not knowing if Carlton would make the eight (or whether the game would be in Melbourne).Credit: Penny Stephens
Getting there could be expensive, though. By midday Saturday, the cheapest return flight to Brisbane showing on Google Flights for next weekend was $865.
A Qantas Group spokesperson said the airline had already added one extra flight to help get more fans to the game.
“Both Qantas and Jetstar will continue to monitor demand for flights closely over the weekend and will schedule additional services if needed,” they said.
“As is always the case, the lowest fares on each airline sell the quickest.”
As for Robbie Williams, he may appear to be a new passenger on the navy-blue bandwagon but he has been pictured in a Carlton guernsey as far back as 2012.
He met Carlton coach Michael Voss last year in the lead-up to his performance at the grand final and was presented with a new jumper.
“I think I’m going for Carlton,” Williams told Seven at the time.
“They sent the coach to come and say hello and we had a great chat. They bought me a shirt and I’m easily swayed. I also like that white emblem thing they’ve got on the front, and the navy blue.”
Williams also hit the socials last week when he celebrated the Blues’ thrilling six-point win over Sydney with a little ditty referencing the Swans’ heavy loss in last year’s decider to Geelong.
Happy Days: Patrick Cripps battled a bleeding nose to help edge the Blues to victory over the Demons.Credit: Getty
“Every time, every time,” Williams sang. “Every time I watch the Swans, the Swans have lost to everyone.”
He isn’t the only celebrity to pay public tribute to De Koning after the Carlton win either, Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott was captured on camera sharing a hug with the star after the match.
Carlton midfielder Sam Docherty said he never lost faith that Carlton could come back, maintaining a “weird feeling we were going to win” – even at nine points down.
“It was not based on anything other than confidence in the group that we’ve got,” he said.
“That last 15 minutes was just incredible. Just an amazing effort by the entire footy club.”
It seemed the Melbourne Cricket Club lacked faith in Carlton despite the win, wrongly declaring the Demons were through to the preliminaries in lights at the stadium on Friday night.
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