Tim Watson has urged Carlton to play Harry McKay every week for the next couple of years regardless of his form.
McKay played his first game of the season on Saturday, with the tall forward kicking four goals in Carlton's 10-point loss to the Eagles.
“Play him. For goodness sake, just keep playing him, I don’t care if he touches the ball five times,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.
“He can play, they’ve got to get him to 50 games as quickly as they can and then obviously in the off-season he’s got to build himself up and get stronger.
“He just shows a lot of enthusiasm while he’s out there and having another big tall target out there just takes some pressure off Charlie Curnow as well.”
With McKay looking destined to build a formidable forward line partnership alongside Charlie Curnow, Watson has also heaped praise on star midfielder Patrick Cripps.
“He is a great player. He is a warrior, competitive superstar Patrick Cripps,” Watson said.
“He got whacked in the head at one stage and didn’t flinch until the ball had passed his area and then he thought I better just check my nose and see how many places it’s in now.
“He led that side. Picked them up at the weekend and said follow me boys.”
Cripps, who was stand in skipper with the absence of Marc Murphy, starred with 34 disposals and 11 tackles.
With Carlton now 0-5, they face the Bulldogs on Friday night in a must win encounter.