CARLTON'S frustrating loss to West Coast has been further soured by Jack Martin's likely absence for at least the next two games with a calf injury.
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Carlton coach David Teague wasn't sure of the severity of Martin's injury following the game, but the star recruit was ruled out after pulling up sore midway through the second quarter, and had ice on his calf before half-time.
"It would be likely that if he couldn't come back on that he'll probably miss a couple," Teague said.
ROUNDS 11-13 Check out the full fixture
Ruckman Marc Pittonet injured his finger in the first half and returned to the field to play out the rest of the game, but Teague was unsure what the longer-term prognosis would be for the big man.
Teague also said his players were "seeking a fair bit of clarity" about the holding the ball rule, which came into focus throughout the Blues-Eagles clash after some decisions left players confused.
"It's a hard one. I think any time you change an interpretation through the season, it's quite hard as much for the umpires to adjudicate. Whether the umpires felt that was right or wrong that call, I don't know.
"They're going to make mistakes as well, so it's hard for us as players and coaches to understand which was an error and which one wasn't, so to get a pattern going forward.
"I think it'll work out, we'll adjust. Right now you've got to move the ball on pretty quick when you can but at the end of the day when you've got no other option, you've got no other option."
Meanwhile, Teague was pleased for four-goal forward Zac Fisher, who he said had embraced a new role as a speedy goalsneak.
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Fisher had been left on the outer for seven games since recovering from an ankle syndesmosis injury in late June.
"We put it to him (in pre-season) that we wanted him to become a small forward and to be honest, he probably didn't want to originally," Teague said of Fisher.
"Then in the iso period he called me and said 'I want to be the best small forward I can'.
"If he keeps bringing that effort every week and brings that pressure every week he's going to be a very good small forward for us and who knows – down the track he might go back through the midfield."
West Coast coach Adam Simpson had been waiting until the captain's run the day before matches to assess Jeremy McGovern's fitness over the last few weeks, but a decision not to play the star defender was made earlier this time.
The Eagles are hoping he'll return from a thumb injury this week, but McGovern is yet to really test his hand out.
"I don't think he's tried it yet," was Simpson's response when asked whether McGovern was comfortable punching the ball yet.
Forward Liam Ryan attended two funerals during the week and got through round 11 unscathed, but the Eagles rolled the dice on playing him.
"He had a bit of tight hammy during the week, so we took a bit of a punt but there was nothing on the scan," Simpson said of Ryan.
