AFTER defeating Richmond with a depleted line-up, Carlton coach Brett Ratten must now decide whether to change a winning combination by selecting Michael Jamison and Nick Duigan to face the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night.

Jamison (back) and Duigan (knee) were hampered by injury leading up to the season opener, but both gained valuable match fitness in the VFL on Saturday.

Ratten said the important duo was right in the mix to make the trip to Brisbane for a clash he considers "a danger game", but admitted the timing of the match would play a big part in the decision.

"They'll be close, [but] I suppose the big debate we have is that it's a five-day turnaround [for them] and we've got blokes who have had a seven-day rest," Ratten said from Visy Park on Monday.

"We don't want to fatigue them first up and [we want to] make sure that their preparation is spot on.

"Duigan is probably a little bit ahead of Michael [in that] he played against Brisbane up there in the Maroochydore game where Michael didn't, so he's at least three quarters of a game in front of him."

Also in Ratten's thinking will be the mounting injury toll the Blues suffered in the back half of last season.

Jarrad Waite, Shaun Hampson, Andrew Carrazzo and Jamison were among the players to miss significant time in the second half of the season and the coach admitted the situation had caused a rethink on player management.

"In the pre-season we had a good conversation with regard to managing our list," he said.

"The Geelong scenario was a beauty with how they got to [rest players] through the season. Whether we use this break now for [those two] players to make sure that they're right to go and have had their rest will be something that we're really careful about.

"It's a long season with a lot of games of footy and it's going to be hard to stay up all the time."

Andrew Walker (quad) and Rob Warnock (shoulders) are the other two key players to come back into the team.

Warnock is ready to play for the first time this season, but will need to work his way into form and fitness via the VFL - a goal made more difficult with the Northern Blues having a bye this weekend.

Walker saw very limited action in the NAB Cup, but his quad injury has affected his kicking and not his ability to maintain his aerobic fitness.

"He's going well, he won't play this week, but he's starting to get into the picture for the Collingwood game," Ratten said.

"His fitness is nothing to worry about, he's out there running and is probably still in the top three players [for fitness] at our footy club even with a few weeks off."

Nick Duigan is a $336,600 defender in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Register your team here

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL