Carlton’s fresh talent will be on show in the west this evening when the Blues take on the Eagles in Mandurah.
 
In the absence of Marc Murphy, the Blues will be skippered by Sam Rowe, while director of coaching Rob Wiley will coach the side in the absence of Mick Malthouse.
 
“It’s obviously a great honour to be able to take the reins, would much prefer if Mick was here, but our thoughts are with Mick and Nanette,” Wiley said.
 
Players took to the track at Mandurah on Thursday afternoon for a light training session in humid conditions.  Among them were draftees Blaine Boekhorst, Clem Smith and Dillon Viojo-Rainbow, along with new recruits Liam Jones, Jason Tutt, Matt Dick and Kristian Jaksch.
 
A number of Carlton’s senior players did not make the journey, including Gibbs, Henderson, Jamison, Judd and Thomas, who are being rested to manage their training loads. Wiley says that creates an opportunity for the new recruits to show how they’ve mastered the game plan.
 
“We’ve done a lot of work in the pre-season on our game plan, how we really want to play, so in many ways it’s not about the individual,” Wiley said.
 
“It’s about the team and the processes we need to put into place if we really want to challenge the top sides.
 
“It’s just a great opportunity for some of these younger boys to say yes, they understand the game plan, and yes, they want to put their hand up to have further selection throughout the NAB Challenge leading into round one.”
 
Carlton will also take five rookies into the game including Irishmen Ciaran Byrne and Ciaran Sheehan, along with Blaine Johnson, Cameron Wood and Tom Fields.
 
Wiley says he’s looking forward to seeing Carlton’s three Irishmen play together for the first time.
 
“It would be hard to think that there’s another AFL club out there that would have suited up three Irish guys (at the same time) – it’s exciting in itself,” Wiley said.
 
“All the boys are really going well. Zach’s had a great pre-season, he probably had a quiet year last year, Gussy Sheehan has come on from last year and Ciaran Byrne has come from nowhere, so it augers well for the future of the Carlton footy club.”
 
The match kicks off on Friday at 4.10pm WST.