CARLTON coach Brett Ratten is expecting a stern test from Fremantle this weekend despite the Dockers' recent troubles.
The last-gasp loss to the Bulldogs at Subiaco on Sunday was Fremantle's fifth in succession, but Ratten expects the beleaguered side to come out firing at Telstra Dome.
"Fremantle are playing pretty good footy when you look at it,” Ratten said from MC Labour Park on Wednesday.
“They haven't got over the line, but they've run the likes of the Bulldogs and Geelong right down to the wire so we'll have our work cut out.
“Fremantle are playing pretty good footy without getting a win. I think they’re disappointed and frustrated which still makes them dangerous, [but] I just think we’ll worry about what we have to do.”
Ratten’s main cause for concern ahead of Saturday’s clash is a lengthy injury list which now includes regular full back Michael Jamison, who is expected to miss between two and four weeks after injuring his shoulder in last weekend’s loss to Brisbane.
The Blues coach expects regular Fremantle tall defenders like Michael Johnson and Luke McPharlin to be thrown forward at times to test his under-strength back line, but believes the battle will be won further up the field.
“We would like Bret Thornton to be in and Jordan Bannister and Michael Jamison and so forth but we haven’t, so what we’ll do is make a defence that can combat that, but I think it will be the ball supply [that counts],” he said.
“As you see if the good players in the competition get time and space then the forwards usually get it lace out don’t they? That will be our challenge; to reduce the impact of Peter Bell, Rhys Palmer … Brett Peake and Garrick Ibbotson has been playing well.
“If we can reduce the amount of inside 50s that they have, that will help maybe reduce their score as well.”
Fremantle enters the match with just one win on the board in 2008, but holding an impressive nine-game winning streak against Carlton.
“I think the positive is that we’re a different team, we play a different brand of footy and, probably like most things this year, we’re trying to change history a little bit,” Ratten said of the lopsided record.
“I think that’s what we’re trying to do most weeks. If you look at our [recent] history against some teams it hasn’t been great and we need to try and square the ledger and get on the board against those teams.
“Fremantle is one of them and the great thing for us is that it’s over in Melbourne and we need to make sure that they go home with another loss.”
The Dockers have made an unfortunate habit of being run down after holding three-quarter time leads of late, but Ratten said his side’s poor start against the Lions was of more concern to him.
“Let’s just see what happens in the first three quarters before we worry about what’s going on in the last quarter,” he said.
“Our challenge is to get off to a good start and the first quarter will be very important for us.
“I would have liked to have had the ledger at four all [after last weekend], but we haven’t and we can’t do much about it.
“It was just a little bit disappointing how that first quarter went after the [Hall of Fame] break. We spoke about what the break could do for some teams and probably for us we were just a little bit off the boil at the start of the game with our intensity.”
Despite their injury concerns, the Blues will not be without selection options this week with defenders Joe Anderson and Mark Austin named in the best players for VFL affiliate the Northern Bullants in their win over top-of-the-table North Ballarat.
CFC TV
Brett Ratten speaks to the media about the upcoming match against Fremantle.
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