A strongly-built and versatile former Port Adelaide player who was recruited by Carlton in the 2008 Rookie Draft, Greg Bentley wore guernsey number 47 throughout the 2009 season with the Navy Blues, and played five senior matches - each of which was remarkable in its own way.

After starting out with the Rosebud Blues Football Club on the Mornington Peninsula, Bentley joined the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup Under-18 competition during his mid-teens. In 2005 he was judged Best and Fairest for the Stingrays, and that led to him being picked up by Port Power in that year’s Rookie Draft. He was promoted for his first senior game for the Power against the Western Bulldogs in Darwin in August, 2006, and steered through a goal with his firstkick. Between then and September 2008, he played at total of 21 games, only to then be told that his services were no longer required.

Later that year, Carlton threw Greg a lifeline by selecting him with the club’s third round pick (number 37) in the 2008 Rookie Draft. When the 2009 season got underway, a couple of stand-out games in the VFL with the Northern Bullants kept him in the selector’s sights, and he was promoted for his first senior game for his new club against Hawthorn at the MCG on a Saturday afternoon in round 6. In one of the games of the season in front of almost 70,000 fans, Bentley began the game from the interchange bench and all but celebrated victory - but Brendan Fevola’s