THE CALL was made to Matthew Cottrell at the end of the 2022.

In the aftermath of signing a two-year contract at Carlton having played 18 games that season, he was met with a proposal.

After debuting in the No.46 jumper, the No.32 - which was worn in the late 1950s by his grandfather, Len - was offered to him, following the departure of Jack Newnes.

It was a chance to continue in his grandfather’s footsteps, and he admits it was a big decision.

But come the end of it, he decided it was the chance to create his own legacy - and Carlton history in the process - at his boyhood club which was too appealing to turn down.

“I did think about it,” Cottrell told the Summer Sessions podcast.

“I thought ‘I haven’t played too many games in the No.46’. I remember telling Dad and he said ‘go for it, Pop will love it’. But I’d bought enough jumpers for nieces and nephews with No.46 on the back.”

What about all the other kids with No.46 on their backs?

“They were big Matty Wright fans, maybe.”

Cottrell’s No.46 locker is the only one without a name on the locker, after Levi Casboult completed the 1-45 sequence in 2018.

Having now played 54 and being a mainstay of Michael Voss’ side since his appointment, Cottrell would love the chance to become the first centurion in the number.

He also believes it holds a particularly poignant meaning, dating back to his arrival on the eve of the 2019 season.

“And I’ve played more than 50 now. It’d be nice to see my name on the locker after 100: there’s nobody there yet.

“It’s a good reflection as well of where I’ve come from. I was the last on the list in 2019 — it feels like home in the No.46.”

As he did reveal, however, his Navy Blue dream was nearly ended before it started. 

On the day he was to be announced as a new signing (unbeknownst to Cottrell), an incident in training had him face a nervous wait.

“Early in the drills, Will Setterfield fell across my leg and I twisted up. I don’t know if I heard anything, but I felt like I’d done something with my knee and hobbled off.

“The Club rushed me to get scans to find out what was happening, and luckily enough it was a bit of bone bruising. I found out why they were so urgent to figure out about my knee!

“It was a whirlwind day, for sure.”