No Tom, no worries: Blues back depth, trump Tigers without in-form ruck

Carlton coach Michael Voss says the Blues did not hesitate to rest in-form ruckman Tom De Koning for the clash against Richmond due to soreness and Tigers champion Dustin Martin is likely to miss Saturday night’s clash against Fremantle in Perth after being subbed off with back soreness on Sunday.

The Blues overcame De Koning’s absence to beat Richmond by 61 points, but were handed a fresh injury worry when midfielder Matt Kennedy sat out the final quarter with a medial ligament injury, which will need scans.

Patrick Cripps kicked a brilliant goal on the way to a best on ground performance against Richmond.

Carlton had already subbed out Adam Cerra just after three-quarter-time in a pre-planned move as he made an impressive return from a hamstring injury while captain Patrick Cripps was the best player on the ground.

The Blues find themselves in a different position to this time last season, and now sit second on the ladder with 11 wins and a six-point gap to third-placed Fremantle. They were 13th on the ladder at this point of last season.

De Koning has been in brilliant form in the past month, but the Blues showed their planning for a premiership tilt was in full swing as they backed Marc Pittonet to replace him in the ruck against Tigers’ captain and three-time premiership ruckman Toby Nankervis, who was celebrating his 150th match.

“[We pride ourselves on] being able to have that squad mentality and have a next-man-in [approach] ... [Pittonet] is a pretty handy next man in,” Voss said.

“We’ll get Tom back next week, but to be able to have the week off and probably rest a few bruises is not a bad thing.”

Meanwhile, the Tigers look likely to travel to Perth without Martin after he struggled to overcome back soreness in the second half.

Martin had a massage on the bench and attempted to return before putting his hand up to be subbed out of the game for, what his coach Adem Yze guessed, was the first time.

“He just seized up. He tried to go back out there for one more rotation, and he was just battling, so it was pointless. We had a fresh guy who could come back on,” Yze said.

Injured Dustin Martin leaves the field with Noah Balta and their Richmond teammates.

“It’s a six-day break [before Fremantle] and he obviously had some spasms in his back today, and we’ll see how that pulls up. He’ll have a day off.”

Yze had flagged last week that Martin might not travel to Perth given the short break and the fixture, which sees Richmond have travelling outside Victoria twice off six-day breaks in their first four matches after the bye.

“Our hand might be dealt anyway, but we will make that decision. If he bounces his way out of the game OK, there is no reason why he can’t play against Freo, but we have to have those discussions,” Yze said.

Yze said the injury was not a lingering issue.

He hoped Dion Prestia may return but was sceptical about the chances of Tom Lynch being available.

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