AN ALREADY inexperienced Carlton will be without skipper Kerryn Peterson for at least the first month of the season, after the former All-Australian defender had knee surgery.

Peterson, 31, underwent an arthroscope this week after feeling soreness in her knee.

The captain will be joining key forward Phoebe McWilliams (calf, one week) and key back Paige Trudgeon (knee, 2-3 weeks) as senior players on the sidelines.

It leaves a big load on recruit Harriet Cordner – who has only played a practice game since rupturing her ACL – and recent injury replacement signing Gen Lawson-Taven, with Mua Laloifi needed to help cover Peterson's rebound.

"She's had an arthroscope, so she'll miss the first couple of weeks of the season, which is a bit of a shame," new coach Mathew Buck told reporters on Thursday.

"[Peterson] is a great leader, so we'll put her to work on game day, whether that's on the bench or in the box, we'll figure that out today. She's chomping at the bit to make sure we play well, so if she has anything to do with it, we'll definitely perform well."

All-Australian ruck Breann Moody may be eyeing a position as a key forward in 2023, swapping roles with Jess Good for periods of time.

"I've always looked to develop a little more forward, I think that's something that you can definitely look forward to seeing a little more of this year," Moody said.

"But I also really enjoy my time in the ruck, so hopefully we'll be able to find a bit of balance there and find what works best." 

The Blues made a concerted shift to day training this year, and were one of the clubs with the highest number of day sessions this pre-season.

"It's made a huge difference to our whole playing group. Instead of getting home in the middle of the night like we did last year, and still having to eat and worry about our 10 hours sleep, there were a lot of contradictions," Moody said.

"This year, to be able to get home at a reasonable hour, make ourselves a good dinner and set ourselves up for the next training session has made a big difference.

"Then getting to training and not feeling fatigued after working or studying all day, you're on the job from the get-go and you know your priority for the day is footy and you're going to get the best out of it."

Eight of the Blues' active squad of 30 are new to the team this year, but it was two rising young players who Buck highlighted as players to watch in 2023.

"Really impressed with Mia Austin – she's come back from a broken ankle last year, only played two games," Buck said.

"Her recovery that she put in was exciting, and now she's hit the ground running, she has performed well in the first two practice matches and is performing well every week.

"Keeley Sherar's probably the other one who I bang on about a little bit too much to our playing group. When we talk about contest, that's where she starts her game and that's something I really enjoy."

Carlton opens its season by hosting Gold Coast at Ikon Park on Saturday.