AFTER one of the most dominant contested marking performances from a team this season, Carlton forward Jarrad Waite says the Blues should be taking advantage of their strength in the air.
Ranked No.11 in the AFL for contested marks this season, averaging nine per game, the Blues controlled the air against the Hawks at the MCG on Friday night, winning that particular statistic 22-6.
It wasn't enough to get them over the line against the reigning premiers, but the signs were positive as Waite (five contested marks), Levi Casbout (three) and Sam Rowe (three) got on top in their positions.
Hawthorn went into the match with a depleted backline, but the Blues were also without key position players Michael Jamison and Lachie Henderson, who were withdrawn pre-game because of injury.
"Teams are so good at getting numbers back that if you can take two or three or those contested marks that you're not normally going to take, it could be the difference between a win and a loss," Waite told AFL.com.au.
"We've got some very good contested marks – even our smalls are good marks overhead, like Mitch (Robinson) … we have to keep them away from the packs every now and then."
Fremantle is ranked No.1 in the AFL for contested marks, averaging 12.7 a game, with ruckman Aaron Sandilands taking a League-high 25 contested grabs this season.
Contested marking has long been an aspect of Waite's game that can hurt the opposition when he is on song, and he was able to control his match-up on undersized opponent Kyle Cheney on Friday night.
However, the performances of Rowe, who won his duel with Jarryd Roughead, and Casboult in attack were perhaps more significant for the Blues.
Casboult's strong marking was again on show, and he converted long-range set shots to finish with 4.0 in a breakout performance.
Coach Mick Malthouse said the key forward, who entered Friday night's match with 4.7 from eight previous games, had changed his kicking style and now felt more comfortable when lining up for goal.
"He probably hasn't had the ability to believe in himself and that's been a real effort on our behalf … just to get him to believe he belongs," Malthouse said.
"We won't call him the monster forward, but he's a very difficult forward to hold when he's up and running.
"I'm hoping that he can build on his games on a week-to-week basis and learn something new.
"He's a worker [and] he's got a fantastic tank."
