In confronting Collingwood, the challenge for Carlton is formidable – particularly so given the recent long-term losses through injury of on-ballers Tom Bell, Ed Curnow and Chris Judd – as invariably the midfield is where any game is run and won.
Dane Swan looms as an enormous threat. Having followed up on his 35-possession haul against North with a scintillating four-goal return against the Bombers on Anzac Day, Swan is in rare form.
Likewise is Dayne Beams for whom the numbers truly stack up. As main possession gatherer for Collingwood, Beams, who averages 29 touches every times he runs out, also ranks 7th overall in the AFL in respect of this stat. Significantly, he averages 13 contested possessions per 29, which again elevates him to No.1 status at Collingwood and a lazy eighth overall at League level.
While it's true that Carlton's key defenders Michael Jamison, Sam Rowe and Andrew Walker combined brilliantly to collectively quell West Coast's talls, Travis Cloke and Jamie Elliott loom large as very different threats.
Elliott bagged five in the corresponding encounter of the previous year, and sits equal seventh on the Coleman Medal table, while Cloke, who averages 13 marks inside 50 per game (fourth in the AFL) is a bona fide match winner given the amount of ball that comes his way.
Clearly, Carlton will need to bring its A-game to Jolimont come Friday night (and with it an A-grade tackle count) if it is to prevail against the Carringbush.
