NAB Cup Rd 2: Photo Gallery

CARLTON superstars Chris Judd and Brendan Fevola may be rested for next Saturday night's semi-final clash against Geelong at Telstra Dome.

Blues coach Brett Ratten flagged the notion after his side's 24-point quarter-final win over Hawthorn at the Dome on Sunday night.

"Maybe 'Juddy' might [be rested]. Brendan will be looked at and we're really keen to look at the loads [Marc] Murphy and [Kade] Simpson have had because they've played in the Australian [International] Rules [team last October]," he said post-match.

"We'll see what game time others get like [Bryce] Gibbs – whether they're the subs.

"We'll have to assess what's happened tonight and see what the output was from the GPS."

Ratten pointed to Geelong, which defeated Port Adelaide on Saturday night, as a prime example of a club resting its stars in preparation for the premiership season.

"The pleasing thing from our point of view is we've had a look at Mitch Robinson and we'll get [Matthew] Kreuzer and [Chris] Yarran back next week. We'll get a few who will be close – [Andrew] Walker will be close – so we'll get a few back in”.
 
Ratten said having played a 2008 finalist in North Melbourne, and last season’s grand finalists Hawthorn and now Geelong would be ideal preparation for the season ahead.

"[Geelong and Hawthorn] are probably two of the best teams in the competition, so it'll be a good indicator for us.

"When you look back and have seen what key indicators are for a season – last year the final eight was set by round seven and the year before it was round eight, so you can probably go through history – it's been set fairly early.

“So getting wins on the board early are pretty key factors for most teams."