Don't judge us yet: Curnow
Several of Carlton's absent stars are about to see NAB Cup action, as the club dismisses its winless start
CARLTON will enter the third round of the NAB Cup without a win, but Ed Curnow says the Blues' pre-season isn't being judged on the scoreboard.
A last-gasp defeat at the hands of the Western Bulldogs on Sunday followed away losses to Adelaide and Port Adelaide the week before, but Curnow said coach Brett Ratten gave an upbeat appraisal of the team's efforts at Etihad Stadium.
"He was more positive [than] the Adelaide trip," Curnow said.
"He wanted to address a few things like our general intensity at the ball and heat at the opposition. In terms of that we still have a bit more improvement to go, [but] he was a fair bit more positive after the game.
"[Winning is] probably not as important as it is to try guys out in some positions.
"We'll probably want to go into the season with some winning form - who wouldn't want that? But we also want to try out guys in different positions and see how a few of the younger guys go."
Former Cat Jeremy Laidler was sent for scans on Monday after he dislocated his left kneecap against the Bulldogs and Curnow was hopeful the defender wouldn't face an extended stint on the sidelines.
While Laidler's condition is a concern, the club's injury list is set to shorten significantly this week with Chris Judd, Jarrad Waite, Mitch Robinson, Nick Duigan and Andrew Walker to make the trip to Maroochydore to take on the Brisbane Lions.
Curnow was confident the returns of those players boded well for the side's preparation for the premiership season opener against Richmond at the MCG.
"I think each week the group is definitely getting more excited to play in round one - that's what we're focusing on," he said.
"Each week we're practicing a different thing in our game plan.
"At the moment all we're focusing on is improving each week and practicing different things in our game plan to make us a different team to what we were against West Coast [who ended the Blues' finals campaign] last year.
"There has been a lot of talk that we're aiming for the top four and that's the truth - we want to go one better than last year - so that's what we're focusing on."
