Former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy has revealed Carlton made an audacious bid to lure him out of retirement.
After current co-captain Sam Docherty went down with a second consecutive ACL injury at the end of 2018, the Blues were searching for experienced defensive reinforcements.
For the first time, Murphy has spoken about Carlton's left-field play just one year after he retired in 2017.
“I was retired a year,” he said on SEN’s Bob and Andy.
“I think Sam Docherty (Carlton defender) had just done his knee and the call was made to see whether I’d entertain coming back (to play).
“I’m not entirely special as I think they threw the net out pretty far, I think Brendon Goddard also got a request, but the call was put out.”
Murphy said he found Carlton's approach “hilarious”, admitting he “never seriously” considered coming out of retirement.
“(Manager Tom Petroro) said ‘take a day’ and think about it,” he said.
“He said that they want to draft me and I must admit, I found it hilarious as I had been out of the game a year already.
“I never seriously entertained it.”