Carlton coach Michael Voss is optimistic about a handful of his players and their availability for the club's upcoming finals clash against Brisbane.
The Blues' injury challenges have been well documented throughout 2024, losing the second-most games (131) only to Richmond, who have had their troubles.
However, blessed with the pre-finals break and the chance to take a breath after the longest season in history, Voss and his men will hopefully reap the rewards of the extra days off.
Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, Zac Williams and Mitch McGovern have put together a strong body of work and are more likely to line up at the Gabba in eight days.
Sam Docherty, Adam Cerra and Tom De Koning are touch-and-go to don the navy blue and will make their case in the lead-up to the elimination final.
โThere's probably two parts in it, and we tend to lump them into one pile, but it's important to look at them all differently,โ Voss told SEN.
โThe reality is that of the players that didn't play, there's probably four or five that have already done a heap of work. They've already played a significant amount of football and just missed one or two games.
โThat's Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, Mitch McGovern and Zac Williams and those types who have played quite a fair bit of footy.
โAnd then we've got some of the other guys who we have to make decisions on as the week progresses.
โThat's Sam Docherty, that's Adam Cerra, that's also Tom De Koning as well. We don't need to make any decisions right now. What we will do is take the week of training and look at where they're at and make some calls based on what we need to carry in.
โAll we need to know is that the players who go out there will be fit and ready to go.โ
Docherty's consideration comes as the defender has miraculously turned an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) from Opening Round (ironically at the Gabba against the Lions) into a seven-month recovery that usually takes closer to 12.
Voss is expecting the 30-year-old to put his hand up but won't be rushed into the side due to the high stakes.
โHe's progressing really, really well. I would anticipate he will roll in on Monday and say he's ready to go," Voss said.
โIt's a pretty complex thing to work through, though and it's probably made a little bit harder given we've got other players who haven't played a lot of footy of late as well.
โWe've got to throw that all in before we make a final decision. Docherty is really appreciative of that and understands the circumstances."
Voss will be given confidence in Docherty after his Round 1, 2022 return following testicular cancer that sidelined him for majority of the pre-season.
The former Lion had a short lead-in but was instrumental that season, coming second in the club's best and fairest.
