A GOOD problem to have.
With the return of Sam Walsh to the lineup, AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss has a selection headache which he hasn't had the luxury of in his 18 months at the helm.
Walsh makes up a key part of Carlton's on-ball mix, including Patrick Cripps, George Hewett, Adam Cerra, Matt Kennedy and one of Tom De Koning or Marc Pittonet.
The Round 5 clash marks just the seventh time that Cerra, Cripps, Hewett, Kennedy and Walsh have been named in the same team, and only once has that midfield mix been named with both De Koning and Pittonet in the side.
Blake Acres and Ollie Hollands have also been new faces on the wings so far this season.
Now is the ideal time to be building the cohesion among that group who Voss said haven’t had the chance to have a good run at game time alongside one another.
“That [midfield] group hasn’t played a lot of footy together in the last 12 months: in fact you can count on one hand how many times they have,” Voss said.
“We’re still developing that cohesion that we want to be able to have and that just comes out of playing regular games of football together.
“We’re pretty invested in trying to make that work and what the roles and flexibility they need to make that work, but it’s nice to have that depth through the midfield.”
Walsh ticked all his milestones to return to action, with Voss noting that - after focusing on a substantial training block - there will be no restrictions on his minutes or his role.
However, Voss was quick to mention that this is essentially Round 1 for Walsh, and that some early rust can be expected for the co-vice captain: not that the former All Australian will be using that as an excuse.
“I think we have to temper our expectations just a tad – he hasn’t played football for a long period of time and it’s effectively his first game of the season,” Voss said.
“If you go on his training, you’d go in pretty confident that he’ll have an influence but we also have to recognise that he’ll be a bit behind the others when it comes to match time.”
The occasion of opening the inaugural Gather Round isn’t lost on Carlton, knowing it is coming into enemy territory at Adelaide Oval to play in front of what will largely be a parochial South Australian crowd.
Voss was adamant that while they feel privileged to be opening such a big occasion, they will not let it get in the way of what they came to Adelaide to achieve.
“Playing at Adelaide Oval, it’s obviously a really important occasion and you can see the excitement and energy that’s come to the city,” he said.
“Having been here for quite a period of time, I know this will be important to the city and the state itself, but that won’t stop us from playing our style of football and what we want to bring to it – we’ve got a certain style we want to play and we’ll put that on show tomorrow.”
On the Crows themselves, Voss noted the fine form they’ve shown over the last few weeks, admitting there’s a fair few challenges that they’ll have to face on Thursday night.
Kicking 35 goals combined over their last two outings, the Blues will have to be conscious of the home side's ball movement and ability to give chances to a dynamic forward line.
“There’s a few to put some work into, they’ve got a few threats and they’re in some really good form,” he said.
“We’re up against a really good forward line and a really potent offence: we’re going to have to play 120 minutes of footy to get this one done.”
