Sam Walsh says Carlton’s midfield is itching to respond after a poor month in which his own form waned as the Blues managed only one win from four games.
Carlton’s grip on a top-four spot has loosened but Walsh said motivation remained high, with the added incentive of a chance to spoil Collingwood’s party on Saturday night.
The star midfielder said Harry McKay would be available to play in Scott Pendlebury’s 400th game at the MCG after the key forward trained in Bundoora on Tuesday.
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After Richmond did the same last week, the Blues moved their training session to La Trobe University to allow the Ikon Park surface to recover from another wet weekend.
“(McKay) is training today, I’ve seen him rock up and he’s looking good,” Walsh said.
“It will be good to have him back out there.”
Walsh said the Blues “know what we need to do” after they were run down by Port Adelaide in an unflattering performance on Friday night.
“We’re all feeling pumped for this week … the opportunity to play in a Carlton-Collingwood game is always big, but for there to be that milestone on the end of it for Pendles as well, it obviously builds hype even more,” he said.
“I know we are ready to respond over the past couple of weeks … we know what we need to do.
“Hopefully, we can rain on the parade a little bit but (Pendlebury’s had) an incredible career.”
Collingwood great Nathan Buckley told Fox Footy’s On the Couch on Monday night that Walsh would be “smarting about his recent form” as Carlton’s other midfielders failed to provide support for Patrick Cripps, who has remained in blistering touch.
“You need your best players to be playing their best football … he really is a star, he’s a line runner, a contested ball winner,” Buckley said.
“I’m sure he’d be smarting about his recent form, in particular last week, and he’d want to respond this week. It’s a great opportunity against the old foe.”
Walsh said the focus in Carlton’s midfield had been simplified to “getting back to our roles”.
“The midfield group, we gel together really well, but it’s just getting back to our roles,” he said.
“We’re obviously trying a few different things at the moment, but I think getting that connection is the main thing.
“I think we always try and bring that ruthless streak … it probably dropped away a little bit on the weekend. We’re a pretty competitive group in there, so we’ll be looking to respond.”
Source Agencies
