Carlton v Brisbane at Telstra Dome, Saturday, 7.10pm (AEST)
This week’s team:
B: Bryce Gibbs, Setanta O’hAilpin, Bret Thornton
HB: Heath Scotland, Lance Whitnall, Ryan Houlihan
C: Jarrad Waite, Adam Bentick, Andrew Walker
HF: Simon Wiggins, Cameron Cloke, Andrew Carrazzo
F: Josh Kennedy, Brendan Fevola, Matthew Lappin
R: Cain Ackland, Marc Murphy, Kade Simpson
I: Joe Anderson, Eddie Betts, Ryan Jackson, Jordan Russell
Emerg: Luke Blackwell, Paul Bower, Adam Hartlett
In: Ryan Jackson (elevated from the rookie list, made his AFL debut in round 22, 2006)
Out: Brad Fisher (fractured cheekbone)
When last we met: Carlton v Brisbane at the Gabba, round 13, 2006: Brisbane 8.23 (71) to Carlton 7.14 (56). Adrian Deluca and Brendan Fevola led the scoring for the Blues with two goals each. Lions spearhead Daniel Bradshaw kicked two goals in the absence of Jonathan Brown. Nick Stevens, Luke Blackwell and Heath Scotland were best for the Blues, while Cheynee Stiller, Simon Black and Justin Sherman were best for the Lions.
Carlton win percentage: against Brisbane 46.15 per cent; at Telstra Dome, 26.32 per cent
Comments: If the Blues win on Saturday night it will snap a five-game losing streak against Brisbane. Venue form is also against Carlton; the side has won just four of its last 20 games at the ground, while Brisbane has a 50 per cent win rate at Telstra Dome.
Disposals top three: Carlton: Heath Scotland (106), Ryan Houlihan (97), Marc Murphy (80). Brisbane: Simon Black (99), Tim Notting (82), Luke Power(80)
Goals top three: Carlton: Brendan Fevola (12), Brad Fisher (7), Eddie Betts(5).Brisbane: Jonathan Brown (10), Ashley McGrath (9), Simon Black(4)
Leading tackler: Carlton: Eddie Betts (21). Brisbane: Michael Rischitelli (26)
From the coaches box: Assistant coach Brett Ratten: “Brisbane showed in the pre-season that their young guys like Michael Rischitelli are really emerging as good players. Last week Brown kicked a lot of points so he will be trying to make amends this weekend.”
Last four games: Carlton: W-(Rich) L-(Geel) W-(Ess) L-(WC). Brisbane: Win-(Haw); Win-(ST. K); Loss-(Syd); Loss-(Kang).
Comments: Carlton may suffer the travel bug as a result of travelling to Perth last weekend and will face an angry Lions line up out to end their two-game losing streak. The Blues will have learned many lessons from their loss to the best team in the competition.
The Brisbane Lions will be ruing their loss to the Kangaroos and are likely to make Saturday night’s game a very physical contest. Leigh Matthews will be hoping his slightly more experienced midfielders will provide more goal-scoring opportunities than Pagan’s growing batch of youngsters.
The big question: Who will kick more goals, Jonathan Brown or Brendan Fevola?
