In the seasons following the record-breaking 16th Premiership win of 1995, Carlton began to enter a phase of unofficial rebuilding. With many of the Blues' favourite sons deciding it was time to pull curtains on their careers, Carlton was in dire need for the next generation of young superstars to emerge.

Graeme Whitnall wore the Navy Blue in 66 appearances so the Club was entitled to select his son Lance with their father-son pick in the 1996 National Draft.

In what was his second season, 1998 marked the emergence of Lance Whitnall as a growing force and an up and coming centre half forward of the AFL.

After a miserable start to that year, the Blues turned their fortunes around in the latter half of the season winning more games than they would lose.

In Round 17 of 1998, it would be Lance Whitnall who would warm the hearts of Blues fans on a cold and overcast July afternoon in the battle of Visy Park's two co-tenants, Carlton and the Western Bulldogs. The Blues started as rank outsiders and were not expected to match the top of the table Bulldogs .

The Blues had caused a boil over the previous week, knocking off the highly fancied Adelaide Crows at Football Park and in the same round the Bulldogs romped home against the Brisbane Lions by 91 points.

Whitnall was in the infancy of his career, having played only 34 games, but this game at Visy Park would be his best. Big Red was about to arrive.

The Blues dominated early, leading seven goals to three at the first break. Whitnall had a hand in many of Carlton's first-quarter goals.

It was the second quarter when Whitnall began to cut loose, booting three out of the Blues' 11 goals. That quarter was to be one of the longest in VFL/AFL history. 39 minutes elapsed before the half-time siren sounded. 17 goals in total were kicked and Carlton's Brad Pearce was carried off the ground with a knee injury.

The Blues went into the major break with a 58-point lead; their score of 18.8 (116), the second highest scoring first half in the club's VFL/AFL history.

At the sounding of the final siren the scoreboard showed an unexpected 80-point win to Carlton, with their final score of 29.11 (185) being the greatest of any other in the competition during that season.

Ron De lulio, Fraser Brown and Aaron Hamill were all prominent, but It was Whitnall who stole the show. The 18-year-old with the short bright red hair came of age. He gathered 21 disposals, took 7 marks and kicked 8 goals in a performance which later that season on Brownlow Medal night saw him collect three Brownlow votes.

After the game, Coach David Parkin was quoted as saying that Whitnall possessed the qualities of Mark McClure (Carlton 1986 leading goal-kicker) because "he has a smart head, he is hard at the footy and has good hands."

Parkin also believed Whitnall had the potential to fill gaps left by retirements of Earl Spalding and Stephen Kernahan.

Lance Whitnall said at the time of the game: "It's certainly my best day and also the team's best day. I didn't set myself a goal to kick 8, I set myself to kick one a quarter and ended up with 8 and that is a bonus."

Whitnall's 8-goal haul would be the makings of a career that spanned for 10 years at Visy Park,  ending in 2007 after 216 games and 348 goals. He also captained the Blues in his final season and was a Carlton Best and Fairest winner in 2006.

Round 17, 1998
Carlton 29.11 (185) Western Bulldogs 15.15 (105)