Lance Whitnall (born 23 August 1979) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er, and a former captain of the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

Early career (1997–1999)

Debuting in 1997 as a 17-year-old, the young Whitnall was recruited in the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

AFL Draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft (sports), draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League ( ...

under the

father–son rule The father–son rule is a rule that allows clubs preferential recruiting access to the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the club in Australian rules football, most notably in the Australian Football League. The rule ...

, with his father Graeme having played 66 games for Carlton in the 1970s and 1980s. The young red-headed, freckled Whitnall, known as "Banger", "Big Red" or simply "Red", quickly established himself in Carlton's best 22, kicking four goals on debut, and missing only a handful of games in 1997 and playing every game in 1998 and 1999. He became a vital part of Carlton's forward line, and in Round 17, 1998 against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

, the then-19-year-old Whitnall became one of the youngest players to kick 8 goals in a game. It was in this match that he well and truly had established his presence. Whitnall finished with 46 goals for the 1998 season, followed by 55 goals in 1999.

Mid-career (2000–2003)

In 2000 Whitnall had his best ever season when he kicked 70 goals, including his career best 9.4 against Brisbane in Round 16, and was named in the

All-Australian Team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

. However, From there, the talented Whitnall had suffered a number of setbacks in his career, with ongoing injury and weight problems.

Late career (2004–2007)

In 2005, Whitnall turned around his previous weight problems and came out looking as fit as he had ever been. He performed very well during 2005 and 2006, playing predominantly as the senior member of the Blues' young backline. He capped off a solid 2006 with victory in the Blues' best and fairest (the John Nicholls Medal), and at the age of 27, Whitnall became the second youngest Carlton player (after

Robert Walls Robert Walls (21 July 1950 – 15 May 2025) was an Australian rules footballer who represented and in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. In a playing career that spanned three decades, Walls played a combined 2 ...

) to play 200 AFL games. A long-term member of the leadership team, and widely regarded as having one of the best football brains in the game, Whitnall first took over the captaincy of the team during Anthony Koutoufides' hand injury in 2006, and became the full-time captain in 2007 after Koutoufides relinquished the position. However he struggled in 2007 with ongoing problems with a degenerative condition in his knee. At the completion of the 2007 season, concerns by the club about his degenerative knee being able to stand up to the pressures of AFL football forced Whitnall into retirement, bringing his 11-season, 216 game career at Carlton to an end at 28 years of age.

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, , 8 , , 18 , , 19 , , 15 , , 123 , , 55 , , 178 , , 71 , , 7 , , 7 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 6.8 , , 3.1 , , 9.9 , , 3.9 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, , 8 , , 22 , , 46 , , 34 , , 229 , , 114 , , 343 , , 148 , , 23 , , 46 , , 2.1 , , 1.5 , , 10.4 , , 5.2 , , 15.6 , , 6.7 , , 1.0 , , 2.1 , , 8 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, , 8 , , 26 , , 55 , , 36 , , 266 , , 118 , , 384 , , 191 , , 22 , , 81 , , 2.1 , , 1.4 , , 10.2 , , 4.5 , , 14.8 , , 7.3 , , 0.8 , , 3.1 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , 8 , , 25 , , 70 , , 45 , , 296 , , 95 , , 391 , , 208 , , 35 , , 62 , , 2.8 , , 1.8 , , 11.8 , , 3.8 , , 15.6 , , 8.3 , , 1.4 , , 2.5 , , 9 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, , 8 , , 21 , , 37 , , 21 , , 226 , , 76 , , 302 , , 146 , , 27 , , 41 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 10.8 , , 3.6 , , 14.4 , , 7.0 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , , 2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , 8 , , 14 , , 28 , , 17 , , 162 , , 45 , , 207 , , 103 , , 15 , , 41 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , 11.6 , , 3.2 , , 14.8 , , 7.4 , , 1.1 , , 2.9 , , 3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, , 8 , , 12 , , 11 , , 11 , , 137 , , 42 , , 179 , , 73 , , 13 , , 26 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , , 11.4 , , 3.5 , , 14.9 , , 6.1 , , 1.1 , , 2.2 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , 8 , , 19 , , 24 , , 14 , , 141 , , 61 , , 202 , , 75 , , 18 , , 52 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 7.4 , , 3.2 , , 10.6 , , 3.9 , , 0.9 , , 2.7 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, , 8 , , 22 , , 24 , , 21 , , 229 , , 110 , , 339 , , 139 , , 20 , , 49 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 10.4 , , 5.0 , , 15.4 , , 6.3 , , 0.9 , , 2.2 , , 5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, , 8 , , 22 , , 15 , , 8 , , 284 , , 130 , , 414 , , 177 , , 26 , , 23 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 12.9 , , 5.9 , , 18.8 , , 8.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , 5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , 8 , , 15 , , 19 , , 16 , , 148 , , 54 , , 202 , , 86 , , 15 , , 22 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 9.9 , , 3.6 , , 13.5 , , 5.7 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 216 ! 348 ! 238 ! 2241 ! 900 ! 3141 ! 1417 ! 221 ! 450 ! 1.6 ! 1.1 ! 10.4 ! 4.2 ! 14.5 ! 6.6 ! 1.0 ! 2.1 ! 32

Post-AFL career

Whitnall was recruited by NTFL side the Palmerston Magpies after being delisted by Carlton and played in two of the club's matches in the 2007/08 season, kicking several goals. In the 2008 winter season, Whitnall returned to play for original club Lalor in the NFL. He played there in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, Whitnall shifted to the EDFL's Craigieburn Football Club where he served as playing assistant coach for two seasons; in 2011, Whitnall was the EDFL's A-Grade leading goalkicker, after kicking fourteen goals in the final round to secure the title. Whitnall finished his playing career at Glenroy, also in the EDFL, and also coached there from 2012 until 2015. He has been in an assistant coaching role at the

Calder Cannons The Calder Cannons is an Australian rules football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club competes in the Talent League, the Victorian Statewide Under-18s competition, and fields squads in the Under-15s, Under-16s and Under-18s. The club was f ...

in the

TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...

since 2016. Whitnall also played

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

at a suburban level for the Lalor Warriors Cricket Club in the North Metro Cricket Association, where he was an opening or top order batsman, and was on the club's committee until 2016. In 2017, Whitnall returned to play

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for the Division 3

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

side
Laurimar Power Football Club
where he was their leading goal kicker, kicking 29 goals for the season. In 2021, Whitnall became Division 6 champion playing lawn bowls for Brunswick Bowls Club.

References

External links

Lance Whitnall at the Carlton Football Club website
*
Lance Whitnall profile in Blueseum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitnall, Lance 1979 births Living people Carlton Football Club players All-Australians (AFL) John Nicholls Medal winners Palmerston Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Northern Knights players Lalor Football Club players Northern Bullants players