Blues must sharpen defence ahead of Giants test

Carlton’s defenders will need to bring their A-game when they take on undefeated Greater Western Sydney, Blues coach Michael Voss says.

A tough month of footy awaits the Blues, beginning with a Saturday meeting with Adam Kingsley’s high-flyers at Marvel Stadium.

Defensive pressure will be the name of the game against the Giants, who lead the league on percentage thanks to powerhouse attacking talent that includes Jesse Hogan (18 goals), Toby Greene (nine) and Callum Brown (10).

Carlton then take on formidable attacking sides in Geelong, Collingwood, Melbourne and Sydney over the following four rounds.

The Blues backline will be seeking redemption after falling apart late in the game against Adelaide in round five.

The Crows kicked the last three goals in their twilight clash at Marvel Stadium, to win by two points and deny the Blues their first 5-0 start since 1995.

“When we come up against GWS, we’ve got to make sure that defensively we’re on,” Voss said on Friday.

“They’re not just a transition-focused team, they do score heavily from stoppage as well.

“We can’t ignore what we need to be able to bring to the table.”

Hamstring trouble will keep Adam Saad out of Carlton’s clash with Greater Western Sydney. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Carlton will be without Adam Saad after the defensive stalwart suffered a hamstring injury against Adelaide.

Fellow defender Mitch McGovern, midfielder Adam Cerra and forward Jesse Motlop are also ruled out with hamstring issues.

Voss has elected to call up defenders Lachie Cowan and Lewis Young to help fill the gaps after the pair’s impressive showing last weekend in the VFL.

“(We’ve) lost a couple of people in a very short turnaround but we move on,” Voss said.

“It’s about who’s playing, who’s out there, what team we put out there, and how do we get a result.”

The Giants travel without Sam Taylor (concussion) but Voss took little comfort from the All-Australian defender’s absence.

Taylor jointly leads the league on 23 intercept marks and is ranked third with 46 intercept possessions.

“He didn’t play the last time we played and they still got the job done,” Voss said.

Young defender Leek Aleer comes in to replace Taylor – more than 600 days after he last played at AFL level.

The Giants also welcome back Callan Ward, after the midfielder overcame a shoulder injury, to replace Stephen Coniglio (knee).