2011
Houlihan continued to suffer significant injury problems. A severe calf injury during the pre-season, which recurred several times and took more than 3 months to recover from, kept him out until Round 13- an absence of over 11 months since his last game. He was only seen briefly at the end of the game as the substitute player (a new innovation introduced in 2011). The following week, in Round 14, he returned to his role as a defensive forward, limiting key West Coast Eagles playmaker Shannon Hurn to a near season low 10 possessions, while having 19 of his own and 2 goal assists. Houlihan played his 200th game in Round 19 against North Melbourne, the same side he had debuted against 11 years previously, becoming just the 31st player in the history of the Carlton Football Club to achieve that. President and club great Stephen Kernahan and Coach Brett Ratten said he had been a great player for the club and had anticipated that the emotion of his milestone would motivate the team to win the match for him, which it did.
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