Carlton will look to return to the winners’ list when it strives to tame the Kangaroos at Etihad Stadium on Sunday for Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round. 

The Blues will enter the clash on the back of a 35-point loss to Fremantle on the road last week, while North Melbourne will head into the match looking to consolidate its 14-point win over Melbourne at the MCG.

The Round 10 outing will see the two sides go to battle for the 154th time, though only the 18th at Etihad Stadium. While the Blues lead the overall battle count 97 wins to 56, the Roos hold the advantage at Docklands, having won 12 of 17 fixtures at the venue against Carlton.

Carlton has struggled against North in recent years, with the Roos claiming the last two meetings with a 67-point win in 2016 and 64-point win in 2015.

In the most recent encounter between the sides - Round 9, 2016 – Todd Goldstein dominated the ruck contest in the absence of Matthew Kreuzer to finish with 45 hit-outs to the Blues’ seven. 

The Roos’ big man is currently the highest ranked ruckman in the Schick AFL Player Ratings and affords his side fifth spot in the competition for hit-outs. After managing an impressive 61 hit-outs against the Dees in Round 9, Goldstein poses a huge threat to the Blues who are ranked 15th in the league in this category.

However, Goldstein won’t be the only tall to challenge Brendon Bolton’s men on Sunday, with 200cm spearhead Ben Brown and former Blue Jarrad Waite set to take the field confident in front of goal after managing five and six-goal hauls in the past month.

With the Blues ranked last for scoring, they’ll be sure to rely on their defensive stocks to keep their opposition’s scores to a minimum.

Speaking ahead of the clash, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said his side would need to be efficient with the footy when it faced the “well organised” Carlton.

“They’ve (Blues) been really solid and I think fairly consistent in their defensive effort and their numbers reflect that,” Scott told the media on Friday.

“We’re going to have to be at our best with our ball movement and probably look at ways to try and get the ball moving against a team that holds up pretty well defensively.”

With Sam Rowe out for the remainder of the season, the Blues have recalled youngster Harrison Macreadie to line up for his sixth senior appearance. In his company, speedy forward Liam Sumner will feature for the first time this season, replacing Dale Thomas who will miss the match after he suffered a concussion last week.
 

The Kangaroos have made just one change to their victorious side, with midfielder Trent Dumont recalled to replace omitted former captain Andrew Swallow.

Both sides will head into the match with three wins and six losses on the board but who will reign supreme to go one ‘W’ ahead of the other?

Be there to watch the battle unfold from 3:20pm on Sunday. Click here to purchase your tickets and be part of Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.