HE MIGHT not be the most prominent name on Carlton's list, but few at the club face a more important next seven days than Oscar McDonald.
After a spot in the side's backline opened up last November following the sudden and unexpected retirement of veteran Liam Jones, McDonald has surged clear at Ikon Park as the leading contender to fill the sizeable defensive vacancy.
McDonald, 25, has enjoyed a resurgent summer playing alongside 2020 best and fairest Jacob Weitering, with a vastly improved spell of form helping the ex-Melbourne youngster shoot past a host of names to emerge as Jones' likely round one replacement.
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While Blues insiders suggest the next week of practice matches – which includes contests against St Kilda this Thursday and his former side Melbourne next Thursday – will ultimately decide whether McDonald plays against Richmond, he is currently the clear favourite.
It's understood McDonald has superseded new recruit Lewis Young in the pecking order, after the 23-year-old arrived from the Western Bulldogs in a three-way trade last year that saw Sam Petrevski-Seton move to West Coast.
Former first-round pick Brodie Kemp had also been vying for a position in the backline after playing the final two games of last season, though he has more recently been trialled in attack during intraclub hitouts.
McDonald was noticeably selected to partner Weitering in the club's most recent match simulation drill last Friday, with Mitch McGovern chosen alongside the pair in an intercepting role as the third tall.
His performance on Charlie Curnow in that tune-up clash drew praises from Carlton officials in the aftermath, with McDonald said to have effectively shut down the club's rising star to further enhance his chances of taking on the Tigers in 22 days' time.
There, he could be joined by inspirational leader Sam Docherty. Having undergone 12 weeks of chemotherapy for a secondary reoccurrence of testicular cancer last August, the former co-captain is considered a strong chance to make a remarkable round one return.
Zac Williams will continue in his role as a rebounding defender and is set to partner Adam Saad off half-back, while Liam Stocker will also continue in the backline this season but appears unlikely to recover from a syndesmosis injury in time for the season-opener.
McGovern has been one of the pre-season's standouts in a newly adopted intercepting role, while Nic Newman is another to have impressed the Blues' coaching staff this summer as he battles with Lachie Plowman for one of the final defensive positions.
But the freshest face in Carlton's backline is that of McDonald's. Having featured in just eight games over the last two years, and having not started a match at AFL level since September 2020, a place in the side's round one team would mark an incredible turnaround.
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An 81-game player with Melbourne, McDonald played every match during the side's successful journey to the preliminary final in 2018 before being delisted just two seasons later.
He then earned a reprieve as a train-on player – and then as a pre-season Supplemental Selection Period signing – at Carlton ahead of last year, edging out Callum Moore, Ben Crocker and Zavier Maher for a spot on the club's list.
He was famously the first ever substitute to be introduced under the League's new rules in round one last season, replacing Jack Silvagni at half-time against Richmond and kicking two goals as a makeshift forward.
He was an unused substitute for the next two matches against Collingwood and Fremantle, before suffering a bone stress injury in his lower back during a VFL game in April and missing the remainder of the season.
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Retained on the club's rookie list courtesy of a one-year deal signed last October, McDonald now has the opportunity to cement his place in a new-look Carlton defensive unit should he impress during the upcoming pair of practice matches.
