Blake Caracella (born March 15, 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. This article needs to be wikified. ... International rules is a rhetoric sentence used by the governments of United States and Great Britain when pointing at countries that they regard as rogue states because of their political inclinations or because they do not voluntarily align to Washington or Londons international policies. ... Essendon Football Club logo Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... This page is a chronological listing of Australian Football League premiers. ... It has been suggested that The pride of brisbane town be merged into this article or section. ... This page is a chronological listing of Australian Football League premiers. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... High marking is a key skill and spectator attribute of Aussie Rules Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Aussie Rules Football Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply football or footy is a code of football... The Australian Football League (AFL), formerly known as the Victorian Football League, and sometimes known as the VFL/AFL, is the elite Australian national competition in the sport of Australian rules football. ...

Early career

Selected by Essendon in the 1995 National Draft at pick 10, Caracella finally debuted with the Bombers in 1997. What had held him back was his lack of bulk - he came to the club weighing only 74kgs - however he rectified this by pushing his playing weight up to 83kgs prior to his AFL debut. Caracella quickly established himself in the side as a skilful small forward/goalsneak, who had patience and poise. He earned himself an AFL Rising Star nomination for his work. Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... 1995 AFL Draft Category: ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

Premierships

He was a vital part of Essendon's premiership win in 2000, contributing 35 goals for the season. At the end of 2002 he was traded to the Brisbane Lions, where he played in a premiership side in his first three years It has been suggested that The pride of brisbane town be merged into this article or section. ... This page is a chronological listing of Australian Football League premiers. ...

Collingwood career

He was again traded to Collingwood at the end of 2004, the team that he used to follow as a child. Reasons cited for his trade from both Essendon and Brisbane was to ease the strain of salary cap restrictions at both clubs. Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In 2005 Caracella had a solid year at Collingwood (apart from a lean patch in the final 7 rounds where he only managed 3 goals, as well as missing Round 20), booting 34 goals in total. In fairness to Caracella, he attracted the second best defender often since Josh Fraser, Anthony Rocca, Nathan Buckley and Alan Didak missed most of the season with injuries. Along with this handy contribution, Caracella also managed to be a mentor to some of the younger players at the club and went close to leading the Magpies goalkicking. Josh Fraser (born January 5, 1982) is an australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Anthony Rocca (born August 15, 1977) is an Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the AFL. Of Italian descent, Rocca is the younger brother of fellow Australian rules footballer and former teammate Saverio Rocca. ... Nathan Buckley (born July 26, 1972) is an Australian rules football player and captain of the Collingwood Football Club. ... Alan Didak (born February 15, 1983) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ...

Retirement

In 2006, Caracella suffered a career-ending neck injury. Whilst contesting a loose ball against the Lions, Caracella slipped and former teammate Tim Notting's hip accidentally collected his head, fracturing several vertebrae and bruising his spinal cord. The injury horrified the football community, drawing comparisons to the quadriplegia suffered by Footscray's Neil Sachse in the 1970s. Tim Notting (born October 21, 1978) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Quadriplegia, also known as tetraplegia, is a symptom in which a human experiences paralysis of all four limbs, although not necessarily total paralysis. ... The Western Bulldogs, formerly known, and occasionally still referred to, as the Footscray Football Club, is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based at the Whitten Oval in Footscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne. ...

On Wednesday, August 2, Caracella announced his retirement. At the press conference, Caracella revealed that scans had shown his spinal column was naturally narrower than average. This condition would have ruled out a career in any professional contact sport had it been diagnosed earlier, and added to the sense of relief that the injury was not considerably more serious. However, he claims that he now suffers virtually no ill-effects resulting from the collision. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Personal Life

He is married to Jackie Price and they have a son named Noah Lucas (born June 2006).

External links

• Blake Caracella profile on the Official AFL Website of the Collingwood Football Club
• Blake Caracella profile on the Official AFL Website of the Brisbane Lions Football Club
• Blake Caracella's statistics from AFL Tables