Carlton has its eyes set on the Sydney Swans this weekend, as the team ventures to the harbour city for the second time this year.
After falling just short to the West Coast Eagles last Sunday, the Blues will be hoping to replicate their final quarter surge that saw them peg back a 33-point deficit to just seven.
Sydney, who are pushing for a top-four spot, fell agonisingly short against Hawthorn last Thursday night, giving up their lead in the dying stages of the game to go down by five points.
Addressing the media at Melbourne Airport on Friday morning Carlton coach Brendon Bolton says there’s “no doubt” taking on the Swans will be a tough challenge.
“I think they’re going to go deep in September, so it’s another benchmarking game for us,” Bolton said.
The last time these two sides met was Round 2 this year, in what was Bolton’s second game in charge. Although the Blues went down by 10 goals, Carlton’s young talent stood up, with Charlie Curnow booting his first AFL goal, and Jacob Weitering out marking power forward Lance Franklin.
Bolton is well aware of the Swans hard-bodied midfield, noting Carlton’s stoppage players will have to battle hard in the clinches.
“It’s a ground where you’re going to have a lot of contested footy which means stoppages are going to be critical,” Bolton said.
“We know they’ve got some strong bodies around the park, like Hannebery, Kennedy, so it’s going to be a great contest for Gibbs, Curnow, Cripps – really looking forward to that challenge.”
Although Sydney has won eight of the last 10 encounters, the Blues still hold the overall ledger. After playing a total of 223 times, Carlton has walked away winners 127 times, compared to the Swans 90. The two teams have also drawn on six occasions.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Sydney coach John Longmire says his side is fully focused on the “much-improved” Carlton, and looks forward to a tough contest.
“They’re obviously a much-improved team, they’ve got some really good young players, and some experience in the middle of the ground as well,” Longmire said.
“If you look at their core, especially in their midfield, they’ve got Gibbs, Simpson, those guys are able to give some real experience to younger really good players like Cripps and Weitering.
“We saw them get really close in the last quarter and push West Coast all the way. They had opportunities in the last quarter and they were up and about, so we expect a pretty tough time.”
The Blues will be bolstered by the return of key marking forward Levi Casboult, while Blaine Boekhorst has also been recalled after impressing at VFL level.
Meanwhile Sydney has made four changes, with Isaac Heeney, Harry Cunningham, Xavier Richards and debutant Jordan Foote coming into the side for Jarryd McVeigh (groin), Zak Jones (ankle), Ben McGlynn and Ted Richards.
Carlton and Sydney battle it out on Saturday afternoon at the MCG, with the match kicking off at 1:45pm.
For all the match-day details click here.
