Carlton has turned to a pair of youngsters for the Round 22 clash with Gold Coast.
CARLTON has made two changes for its team to take on Gold Coast.
Kicking off the first of three games in Melbourne to round out the season, the Blues have turned to a young duo for the clash with the Suns.
Playing his first game since Round 14, Hudson O’Keeffe will play his third senior game, having recovered from the hamstring injury sustained in the win over West Coast in Perth.
O’Keeffe is the more ‘experienced’ of the inclusions, given he’s joined by Billy Wilson, who returns to the fold for game No.2 after his debut against Port Adelaide in Round 16.
Wilson joins Corey Durdin, Francis Evans, Jesse Motlop and Flynn Young on the bench, with the Blues to announce their sub an hour before the bounce.
It means the Blues will have seven players with under 25 games of experience and nine players aged 21 and under, reaffirming Michael Voss’ previous statements that the Blues would continue to give youngsters the chance to stake their claim in the final weeks of the season.
Unfortunately, one of those players who won’t feature is Harry O’Farrell, with the young defender sustaining an ACL injury last weekend.
Marc Pittonet has also been omitted, with the ruckman making way for the returning forward/ruck O’Keeffe.
Saturday night’s game will be George Hewett’s 200th in the AFL, with the beloved Blue debuting for Sydney back in 2016, while Bluebaggers will also be able to farewell Sam Docherty in what will be Carlton’s first home game since the former captain retired a fortnight ago.