AFL great Brendan Fevola has revealed his family broke down in tears when he told them about his impending Carlton Hall of Fame induction.
Fevola will be officially unveiled as the newest member of the Blues’ honour list, along with the late Jack Carney and Neil Chandler, at a ceremony at Crown in Melbourne on Monday night.
Fevola was a much-loved player at the Blues but left the club in controversial circumstances when he was traded to Brisbane due to his off-field behaviour.
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He kicked 575 goals from his 187 games at Carlton and was the club’s leading goalkicker seven times, as well as winning the Coleman Medal twice.
Fevola departed Carlton at the end of 2009 following a string of off-field incidents and spent one year at Brisbane before his career was ended after another off-field controversy.
He was joined by Carlton president Luke Sayers on his radio show on Monday morning and Fevola recounted how shocked he was with the honour.
“You’re going to make me cry again, thank you.” Fevola said on Fifi, Fev & Nick.
“When I spoke to you, you rang me, what, a couple of months ago. And we were having a chat because we’re mates … and he said, I’ve actually called you on the Carlton footy club’s behalf.
“I thought, ‘Oh God, they want to get me back to coach or what do they want’ … And then he said, you’re getting inducted into the hall of fame, and I think I cried.
“This is by a big stretch, the greatest thing that’s ever happened in my footy career.
“To be inducted into a club where you walk through the halls of the old Heatley Stand, you’ve got all the old players, and I was just a 17-year-old kid with a pimple face, had no idea from Nazza Wazza (Narre Warren) and then, now, to be inducted as one of those greats, I don’t even know what I said to you. I think I messaged you about two hours later, once it sunk in because I don’t even know what I said.”
Sayers said Fevola was dead silent after hearing the news.
“For people at home who know Fev well, it’s very rare that you have just dead silence and there was dead silence. And then there was ‘are you joking?’ and ‘are you serious?’” he said.
Fevola then said his wife and kids were all in tears when he told them.
“It is such a great honour and obviously tonight’s going to be great,” he said.
“I told Alex and the girls and they all cried because the girls don’t think that I was any good … They think Charlie Curnow is so much better than you and the Carlton footy club is better than what you ever were. And I’m like ‘shut up kids, watch the highlights.’
“So hopefully tonight, they will get that.
“I rang mum and dad separately and I don’t think I’ve ever heard or seen mum cry with that emotion, and dad, so it’s a really special night for them. We’re all going (tonight).
“I can’t wait, just don’t want any repeats of the Brownlow.”
Fevola also revealed it was “really hard” keeping the news a secret for so long.
The big honour comes just days after a copper statue of Fevola was unveiled in Narre Warren.
“Oh my God, this is like a mirror!” Fevola joked last week.
“Oh my… what an amazing honour because dead people normally get this, and I’m not dead yet. Please don’t wreck it, make sure you look after it. If people poo on it, clean it. If other people want to get around it… I reckon we should be roping it off.
“People have been bronzed around the world and doesn’t look like them… I think I look amazing!”