Carlton faces selection dilemma
Andrew Walker and Brad Fisher have performed well in the VFL but may struggle to squeeze back into a firing Carlton outfit
Both have had limited pre-seasons owing to injuries and were left out of the Blues' side that beat Richmond by 83 points last Thursday night in round one.
Walker, who has overcome yet another shoulder injury, and Fisher, who has been in the rehab group following a dislocated elbow sustained in December, both played well in the Northern Bullants' practice match against Coburg at Visy Park on the weekend.
"Walker played well in the pre-season but just missed out with so many available in the first couple of rounds," coach David Teague said on Monday.
"Fisher has been a regular senior player the last couple of years and he missed a bit of the pre-season, so he just didn't get a game either.
"He had a good battle with Alex Rance on the weekend, who had been playing a bit of seniors in the pre-season and he finished the game with four goals, which was a pretty good effort.
"He worked really hard and was one of our better players.
"Walker played really well, as well. He took his game to another level on the weekend.
"He played some okay footy with us the weeks before, getting plenty of the ball, but this week he won some really important ball and put his head over it when he had to.
"He also finished with a couple of goals, which helped."
Teague said the pair would be in contention for senior selection this week, but believed opportunities would remain limited given the Blues' big season-opening win and the fact they escaped the game with no injuries.
"They'll be in the mix. With the team playing so well, I don't know how many changes they'll make," he said.
"Shaun Grigg is also coming back from injury but they could put their hands up along with Joe Anderson and Steven Browne.
"Grigg missed out this week through injury. He was touch and go to play but in the end, the club said to wait another week.
"His pre-season was very good so he could possibly go straight into the seniors."
Teague said Andrew Carrazzo, who broke his arm in the club's first practice match of the season in February, did not play VFL on the weekend and was likely to miss again this week.
The Bullants won the match but left Teague disappointed with their lack of application to areas focussed on over the summer.
"We won by three points but we didn't play very well," he said.
"We were lucky to get away with the win. It was one of those games where we were outplayed but just happened to finish in front.
"With Carlton not having too many injuries, we've got some real quality out there and our younger players are getting the opportunity to play with some good quality teammates, which is great.
"At times, we moved the ball really well and just lacked a bit of intensity, and our tackling was down a bit.
"The way the game is played now, we put a lot of time and effort into those two areas in the pre-season and that's what let us down on the weekend."