PADDY Dow will start his first AFL game for the season when Carlton takes on Collingwood this Sunday. 

Carlton’s standout player at VFL level this season, Dow will get his chance in the midfield in place of Matthew Kennedy. 

Kennedy will miss Sunday’s match against Collingwood after being unable to complete training late this week due to a corked quad. 

Dow, who has averaged over 28 disposals and a goal a game in the VFL, joins Jack Newnes in the starting line-up. 

The 29-year-old replaces Jack Carroll in the side, who has been omitted. 

Newnes will join Lochie O’Brien on the wing, who will play his 50th AFL game against the team who his grandfather Denis played one game for in 1971. 

With Kennedy's exclusion, Brodie Kemp has been elevated to emergency, joining Jordan Boyd, Carroll and Jack Martin: one will be announced as medical sub an hour before the bounce.

Both sides will be looking to go ahead in the historical ledger, with the record tied at 128 wins apiece (plus four draws) leading into the 261st encounter. 

Sunday’s game begins at 3:20pm AEST from the home of football with a bumper crowd expected.

In: Paddy Dow, Jack Newnes
Out: Matthew Kennedy (corked quad), Jack Carroll