MIDFIELD coach Tim Clarke is looking forward to a challenge against what he rates as a very impressive side in Fremantle.
Coming up against the Dockers in Perth on Saturday night, Clarke said the Blues are wary of the threats they possess, playing an impressive brand of football — especially through the midfield.
“In regards to the Dockers, I feel they have had a really strong defensive system, or we feel that as a footy club, that they’ve been building over the last couple of years,” Clarke said.
“Their contest method is very strong, similar to us they like to use their hands a lot and their numbers around the ball.”
Despite the dominance of Andrew Brayshaw in recent weeks, Clarke suggested a holistic approach - rather than a clear-cut tag - could be adopted against a cohesive midfield group, but those decisions would be made closer to game day.
“We come up against really good midfielders every week and we’re coming up against - not just Andy [Brayshaw] - a number of midfielders that have been in terrific form, whether that’s outside or inside the contest,” he said.
“Whether we set up to tag one of their players or whether we set up to see how we go at the start and see how the game unfolds, we haven’t confirmed what our strategy will be yet.
“We really respect them as a midfield group and we’ve watched them quite closely this year.”
Another player on Clarke’s radar is Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy, who has been pivotal in setting up his midfield. Carlton's players will be all too aware of what Darcy can bring to the table, having polled three Brownlow votes the last time these two sides met.
It's likely Darcy will be coming up against Marc Pittonet, who has been an instrumental part in Carlton’s midfield success in the four games he has played.
"[Darcy's] impact he’s been able to have, not only around the stoppages, but hitting the scoreboard as well,” he said.
“[The Dockers] have been able to kick some good scores as well and really put teams under pressure on turnover and we’ve got to make sure we bring our contest brand, which has been quite strong this year, we’ve got to be really strong defensively behind it.”
In terms of his own midfield, Clarke has found the absence of captain Patrick Cripps has allowed other players to take a step up in the leadership department.
Noting the returning presence of Sam Walsh, as well as the addition of Adam Cerra and George Hewett to the midfield brigade, Clarke is happy that one of the main areas of strength for the team has been their clearance work.
"There’s been some really good growth with some our leaders: [Cripps] came out of the game this week and really only played a quarter last week and that gives an opportunity for Weitering to captain the side and show his growth with his leadership and Sammy Walsh to step into more of a leadership role in and around the midfield,” he said.
“The other thing with bringing George Hewett and Adam Cerra into the side, they’ve been able to provide some stability around the ball and leadership around the ball which has helped out some of our other younger players.”
Carlton’s second-half fadeouts have been a talking point over the last four rounds.
Mindful of the need to play four-quarter football, Clarke said it was a step towards the big picture for the side: establishing a sustainable brand of football that can hold the Blues in good stead over the course of the campaign.
“We’re building a sustainable brand of footy, and ‘Vossy’ has been really clear since coming in that this is what we’re looking to build: a sustainable brand of footy that can stand up against the best teams in the competition,” he said.
“The good teams have got a brand that stands up when the heat comes against good opposition. That’s what we’re looking to build and that involves having a really good contested brand of footy, really strong defensive brand and then on the back of that, we can look to attack.
“We’re still building that and we’ve got another great challenge this week against a team that has a terrific system.”
