CARLTON recruit Caleb Marchbank says having full-back of the century Stephen Silvagni as a big fan has done wonders for his confidence.
Silvagni has long been an admirer of Marchbank, recruiting the key defender to Greater Western Sydney when he was the club’s list manager back in 2014.
Now holding the same position at Carlton, Silvagni played a major role in luring Marchbank to Ikon Park after the Benalla product played just seven games across two injury-interrupted seasons with the Giants.
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As he attempts to establish himself in a young Blues line-up, Marchbank raves about the sage advice he's received from a man that regularly quelled Hall of Fame forwards Gary Ablett, Tony Lockett and Jason Dunstall across 312 games in the navy blue.
“SOS watches us during training and he’s always there if you want to ask him a question about body position or anything like that,” Marchbank told AFL.com.au.
'He’s someone I’ve learnt from during the pre-season.
"It’s good to have him on your side, he gives you plenty of confidence.”
The 20-year-old’s desire to also become an accomplished AFL footballer has been made easier by just completing his first injury-free pre-season after being hampered by back, knee and shoulder injuries over the past few years.
His goal now is to play regular senior footy, and form a formidable combination with fellow young key defenders Jacob Weitering and Lachie Plowman that will help the youthful Blues push up the ladder.
"I just want to win the respect of my teammates and coaches, and I’ll do that by playing a few good games,” Marchbank said.
"We’ve got a really inexperienced side and I think we’ve got the most players aged 21 and under in the competition.
"I’m looking forward to working with Weitering and Plowman throughout the year.
"I'm also looking forward to what I can bring to the team this season.”
The talented trio faces a stern test in Saturday’s JLT Community Series clash against St Kilda at Ikon Park, with the Saints possessing an imposing attack headlined by strong-marking talls Paddy McCartin, Josh Bruce and Tim Membrey.
Marchbank says the Blues are eager to bounce back after a poor showing against Melbourne in their first pre-season outing last week.
"It was a good hit-out, but obviously the team performance wasn’t that great,” he said.
"We’ve found out what we need to work on and we’ll put that into place this week.
"It will be a tough test (against St Kilda), but I think as a backline we’re prepared for it. We’ve studied the vision and we’re ready for the test."
