Blues set to make changes
Carlton coach Brett Ratten says Heath Scotland and Andrew Carrazzo are both likely to return this week
Regular senior players Andrew Carrazzo and Heath Scotland are likely to return from stints in the VFL while regular full back Michael Jamison is close to resuming after a shoulder injury.
The Blues have lost two games in a row and Ratten said the onus was on his players to respond.
"That's the coach's job, to put that on the group," Ratten said. "We’ve done some goalkicking practice and if we can kick straight it will be very much a bonus for us.
"You lose momentum in the game and there's that 'geez, we've done a lot of hard work for not much reward' [factor].
"The games we have played recently, we've hurt ourselves and shot ourselves in the foot. We need to get back to converting those goals."
Newcomer Mitch Robinson has burst onto the scene this year but his form has tapered off in the past two weeks. He may be dropped back to the VFL for the first time.
However, Ratten said the Tasmanian could win a reprieve if a couple of unnamed players suffering general soreness did not come up for the clash at Docklands.
Carlton forwards, including Brendan Fevola, participated in a goalkicking practice session at Docklands on Thursday morning.
Ratten dismissed a newspaper article earlier in the week that suggested he was unhappy with the attitude of his star forward, who has been uncharacteristically inaccurate of late.
Fevola continues to carry the heel injury that has been with him since the start of the season, but Ratten was optimistic that the injury was on the mend.
"He's going well. He's trained more this week than any other week [this season] so we expect maybe five [goals] straight this week," he said.
Ratten said his players could not help but be affected by the plight of gravely ill former president Dick Pratt, the man credited with setting the club on the road back to its previous lofty position.
"I think they'll have a thought for him," he said.
"I think we'll use it as a motivating factor. It will be mentioned to have our thoughts close to Dick and see if we can get a win."