“He was taken to Albury Police Station. The young person will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.”
A courageous defender, Dean was a member of the Blues’ premiership teams in 1987 and 1995. The esteem with which is held at Carlton is reflected by the fact the club’s youth academy is named after the 248-game backman.
His son, Harry, joined the club as a father-son selection with pick No.3 in last year’s draft and is expected to make his AFL debut in the early rounds of the season. The Blues are supporting Harry Dean and his family.
Dean spoke emotionally about his son after he was drafted, and presented him with his Carlton jumper.
“We don’t talk about [footy] stuff too much, we just let the actions prove,” Dean told Fox Footy at the draft. “He’s a better version of me. He’s taller, stronger … although I’ve still got him in the wrestles at home. He’s quicker, he’s a left footer, so he’s got more skill. He’s a better person as well.”
Carlton recruiter moves on
Michael Gleeson, Peter Ryan
Loading
Carlton’s football department shake-up has led to their national recruiting manager Mick Agresta parting ways with the club after eight seasons.
The vacancy will continue the overhaul of the Blues’ football program under CEO Graham Wright and new football boss Chris Davies, who joined the club from Port Adelaide.
Agresta has worked alongside list boss Nick Austin after joining the club from the Sydney Swans, where he spent seven years alongside veteran recruiter Kinnear Beatson building a team that competed in grand finals under John Longmire.
The pair were instrumental in the decision to recruit Jagga Smith to the club in the 2024 national draft as the Blues recognised the need to reset for the future at the end of that season. Unfortunately, Smith did not play last season due to a knee reconstruction.
Blues footy boss Chris Davies.Credit: AFL Photos
Agresta is understood to be weighing up whether his next move will be inside football or to pursue a career outside the game.
The Blues have made a preliminary final and an elimination final in four seasons under Michael Voss, but fell outside the finals again last season and faced heavy criticism for their performance.
They were very active in the most recent trading period as they traded out star forward Charlie Curnow to the Swans and lost free agents Jack Silvagni and Tom DeKoning to the Saints. They traded in Sydney pair Will Hayward and Ollie Florent, Fremantle’s Liam Reidy, Gold Coast’s Ben Ainsworth and the Eagles’ Campbell Chesser.
Loading
The Blues also drafted father-son prospect Harry Dean and set up their draft picks to prepare for Cody Walker to join the club in 2027.
Josh Fraser and Leigh Adams are now at the club as assistants to senior coach Voss after development coach Luke Power joined the Western Bulldogs and Tom Lonergan joined the Cats. Football manager Brad Lloyd left, replaced by Davies, while Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak is working in a leadership role at the club.
Meanwhile, Blues youngster Matt Carroll is in doubt for the start of the season after injuring his hamstring in an intraclub game on Wednesday.
The Blues will know more about the extent of the injury in the coming days. Hamstring strains typically require a minimum recovery period of 21 days, leaving him in a race against the clock to be ready for the Blues’ season-opener against Sydney on March 5.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
