Adam Cerra and Jack Martin are as good as certain to return from the AFL’s health and safety protocols for Carlton’s clash with fellow unbeaten team Hawthorn on Sunday.
Both players missed last week’s win over the Western Bulldogs but Martin has already resumed training, while midfield star Cerra is due back mid-week and expected to be fine.
Key defender Oscar McDonald (back spasms) is an injury casualty, with coach Michael Voss foreshadowing a potential club debut for ex-Dog Lewis Young or a recall for rookie-listed Luke Parks.
Voss emerged from isolation last Friday after a “horrible” experience watching the Bulldogs game from home, with football boss Brad Lloyd and assistant coach Tim Clarke impacted as well.
“It wasn’t the greatest sitting there watching,” Voss told reporters.
“I had everything available, so I had the deluxe version of watching football, but when it got into the last quarter and the result was on the line a little bit, it wasn’t the best experience xjmtzywI’ve ever had in my life.
“I’m really proud of the club. We had to make a lot of adjustments throughout the week … but the players just got on with the job and the staff knew the job ahead of them and they did it magnificently well.
“I think it speaks volumes to the progress we’ve made in a few areas, and one of them is in resilience. They adapted well and walked away with a good victory against good opposition.”
Voss baulked at Hawthorn counterpart Sam Mitchell’s pre-match suggestion that the Blues’ midfield was now the AFL’s benchmark, saying they still had plenty to prove.
“I don’t really buy into any of those sorts of things. Respect is hard earned but very easily lost,” he said.
“We’ve got to go about earning the right throughout this year. We feel like we haven’t really achieved much at all. We’ve shown some really strong signs that we’re heading in the right direction.
“But the great thing about what I’ve seen from these guys is they’ve been really hungry and they’re just trying to grow on what we’ve done last week and we’re trying to get better.”
Carlton hasn’t been unbeaten through two rounds in a decade but Voss said internal expectations had not changed despite players’ belief “growing”.
“The hope is our members and supporters are really excited about the direction we’re going,” he said.
“But we’re not fulfilled, and that’s the thing coming across from the players, from the coaches, from our staff.
“We’ve only just started it and we want to have a real impact on this season … so we can’t afford to lower the guard. We’ve got the foot down and we’re going hard.
“Our next line of sight is the Hawks and we’ve got to bring our best to win.”
