CRUCIAL Carlton pair Matthew Kreuzer and Caleb Marchbank are expected to return for the Blues' round three clash with Sydney at Marvel Stadium.
Brendon Bolton revealed the two talls had been "really close" to being selected for Carlton's twilight clash with Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Experienced ruckman Kreuzer underwent minor knee surgery in late January after missing 10 games last year with ankle, concussion and heart-rate issues.
Meanwhile, key defender Marchbank has battled a back ailment.
"We just want a little bit more training into them. Their injuries are both pretty good now so they're training. (Director of high performance) Andrew Russell's saying another week, so I'm pretty confident they'll play next week," Bolton told reporters at Melbourne Airport on Friday before flying out for Adelaide.
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The Blues coach is looking for more consistency from emerging star forward Charlie Curnow, who struggled in the round one loss to Richmond, taking just one mark and kicking one goal.
"If you look at the amount of contests he was in last week, he had his hands on a lot of balls (but) probably double-grabbed," Bolton explained.
"He never got the output, but he was in the contest …
"The heat of the game, he was against a very good defence – double-grabs just happen. If you look across the whole competition there were a lot of turnover balls last week. First hitout, high pressure. Players get cleaner every week from now on."
Curnow is working alongside fellow talls Harry McKay and ex-Crow Mitch McGovern in a revamped Carlton attack that should pose problems for many defences. How long will it take to build their on-field chemistry?
"Million-dollar question," Bolton said.
"More time, more experience in the system, it just gets better every week and we're trying to fast-track that and analyse it every week."
Bolton again expressed that the Blues "don't like honourable losses", adding that they were keen to rectify some "fundamental errors" that cost them against the Tigers.
He was impressed with the Power's ability to transition with speed in its upset win over Melbourne at the MCG.
"They move the ball really quickly with fast overlap, so defensively we've got to be on. I though we tackled really aggressively last week against Richmond so we need to repeat, if not better, that focus," he said.
A big talking point was Port's physical approach against the Demons, particularly the way they targeted gun ruckman Max Gawn, but Bolton said his team would be ready.
"There's the physical game, but there's also the psychological game. That's a tactic that they've used. (If they use it again) it probably says that that's a real compliment to our group. We've got a fair few players that that might happen to and if they do, so be it," he said.
Gawn was worn down and beaten by Power big men Scott Lycett and Paddy Ryder, a double act that presents a huge task for Blues ruckman Andrew Phillips, but Bolton is backing his man.
"He's really determined and looking forward to that challenge. Twelve months ago he had a really big challenge with (West Coast's Nic) Naitanui, so he's really capable, and every week he's building. I look forward to that one," Bolton said.
The physical approach of Blues key defender Liam Jones was also in the news, given he escaped with a fine after upending Tiger forward Jack Riewoldt with an off-the-ball bump. Bolton leapt to his backman's defence.
"He was in a fairly stationary position and checked Jack. You've got to look at all those incidents in isolation versus the whole group of them. Off the ball (incidents) and anything that involves punching is high risk and we don't want that, but in Jonesy's case it was a check," he said.
Carlton made just one change for the clash with the Power, promoting small forward Cameron Polson to replace midfielder David Cuningham, who will be sidelined for up to a month after suffering a bruised kidney at training on Tuesday.
A strong contingent of Carlton players, coaches (including Bolton, his wife Louisa and children Ned and Rosie) and officials will remain in Adelaide to support the club's AFLW team in the grand final against Adelaide on Sunday.
"The connection of our club is only getting stronger with AFLW," he said.
