Trevor, the Blues’ 21-game rover through the 1963 and ’64 seasons, jetted in to Melbourne from his native Tasmania the previous Friday. He’d arranged to watch on with his son Darren and grandson Calum, but was blissfully unaware of Darren’s post-match plans.
“I had no idea I was coming into the rooms,” Trevor said. “Whenever I’ve come over here in the past we’ve sat in the outer, watched the game then gone home, so it’s nice that Darren has been able to pull a few strings...
“I haven’t played for Carlton since ’64, but I’ve been a member ever since. It’s as if I’ve never left. I still come over at least two or three times a year, and I usually catch up with ‘Collo’ (former Carlton teammate Ian Collins) while I’m here.”
Now semi-retired, Trevor regarded his Carlton playing days as “precious”. “They were fantastic times back in the good old days and the club really looked after me because to move from Tassie to Melbourne back then was a big move,” he said.
“I was really sorry to come home, but I was married with a new baby then and family must come first.”
Trevor turned out for North Hobart for a further seven seasons before announcing his retirement in 1971, during which time the Tasmanian Demons had landed the 1967 and ‘69 flags under then captain-coach and former Geelong premiership player John Devine.
The former Carlton rover who wore the No.6 guernsey made famous by Bob Chitty, Ern Henfry, Gary Crane, Jon Dorotich and Matt Clape, is now an ardent admire of its current wearer Kade Simpson and the courage he displays whenever he takes to the field.
And he was more than happy when another old North Hobart boy, Marcus Davies, chipped to Brock McLean for the goal that sealed the Tigers’ fate in the dying seconds of Saturday night’s thriller.
Trevor Best with his son, Darren, and grandson, Calum, in the Carlton rooms.
