CARACELLA, Blake

Blake Caracella was talented midfielder with silky skills who remained cool under pressure and was rarely flustered. He made his senior debut against North Melbourne in Round 3 of the 1997 season after he had played two full years in the Reserves. He had a solid season in 1997, kicking 15 goals from nine games, which saw him nominated for the AFL Rising Star award in which he ultimately came runner-up. Caracella won Essendon's Best First Year Player in 1997.

After being hampered by injury in 1998 he had an excellent 1999 season, polling Crichton Medal votes in four of the final five games for the season.

Caracella had an excellent year in 2000 coming third in the Crichton Medal and cementing a place in the side, playing 24 games for the year. Caracella finished off his 2000 season by being a member of the premiership team. He also represented Australia in the International Rules against Ireland.

During 2001 he was a significant contributor to the team, polling 18 votes in the Crichton Medal. He was amongst the best players in all 2001 Finals and was a member of the 2001 losing Grand Final team.

Caracella played 22 games in 2002 and kicked 24 goals mainly playing in the midfield and as a forward. At the end of the 2002 season salary cap pressure forced Essendon to reluctantly cut him from the list, and he was traded to the Brisbane Lions for Damian Cupido.

He played 34 games for Brisbane, including the 2003 premiership win and the 2004 Grand Final loss. Salary cap restrictions again forced him out and he joined Collingwood in 2005. He played 27 games for Collingwood, finishing 10th in the 2005 Copeland Trophy before suffering a serious neck and spinal injury in 2006 which forced his retirement.

Caracella then began an impressive coaching career, becoming assistant coach at Collingwood in 2007, then Geelong from 2010 to 2016, a time that included the 2011 premiership. He joined former team-mate Damien Hardwick at Richmond in late 2016 and played an important role in the 2017 and 2019 premierships.

He returned to Essendon as assistant coach in 2020.