Saturday night’s clash between Carlton and Essendon will be played in honour of the Madden brothers, Simon and Justin, who between them played 710 games of AFL football.

The Madden Cup was struck by the Carlton and Essendon Football Clubs in 1997, the year in which Justin retired after 332 games of AFL football at both the Blues and the Bombers.

Both Maddens, ruckmen, commenced their careers at Essendon where Simon went on to play a club record 378 games between 1974 and 1992, including the 1984 and 1985 premiership sides. He won the Bombers’ Crichton Medal (Best & Fairest) four times and was a Norm Smith Medalist in 1985. Simon was captain of Essendon in the ‘80 and ‘81 seasons and was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996.

Justin saw the light after playing 45 games in the black and red between 1980 and 1982 and joined the Blues after realizing that while he stayed with the Bombers he would always play second fiddle to Simon.

“Harry”, as he is affectionately known, made his debut in the Navy Blue at the Sydney Cricket Ground in round 7, 1983 against Sydney. He went on to play 287 games for Carlton between 1983 and 1996, winning two Best & Fairest along the way.

Justin was twice a Premiership player for the Blues (’87 and ’95) and was Runner-up in the Brownlow medal in 1989. He was twice selected All-Australian (’87 and ’95). He played his last game for Carlton in the 1996 Semi Final against Brisbane. For more information on Justin Madden, click here.

The Madden Cup is played for in one of the matches between Carlton and Essendon each season.

To purchase tickets to the Madden Cup, click here.