Blues lock away defender before gritty Dees clash

Carlton coach Michael Voss says the Blues will be “patient” picking through Melbourne’s competition-best defence as another gritty, low-scoring clash looms on Thursday night.

Voss said he wanted his side to focus on its own strong defensive attitude rather than try to exploit the Demons for a lack of attacking firepower, with Mitch McGovern set to be a major inclusion after overcoming the hamstring strain he suffered in round 5.

It comes as the Blues secured the signature of bargain mid-season draft recruit Jordan Boyd for another two years on Wednesday, tying him to the club until at least the end of 2026.

Boyd, 25, has only played 24 games since he was plucked from relative obscurity during 2021, but has quickly become one of the Blues’ most trusted ball-users and an important lockdown option.

He was sent to GWS superstar Toby Greene after Zac Williams came off injured in round 6 and kept the Giants captain goalless with only four disposals in a display of his defensive prowess.

Carlton list boss Nick Austin praised Boyd for his “perseverance and tenacity” to cement himself at the top level after taking an unconventional path through local football.

“He continually worked hard to show those around him his full potential, even when there weren’t immediate opportunities available to him ... that says a lot about his character,” Austin said.

“Having Jordan around at the club sees him bring a positive energy that is infectious to those around him, and we are all excited to watch Jordan progress in the program over the next few years.”

Williams is set to miss the Melbourne clash with a glute complaint after he skirted the edges of the Blues’ captain’s run on Wednesday, while Jack Martin and Caleb Marchbank trained fully and could both return from injury.

Voss said he was confident the pair – if passed fit – had the necessary preparation to return via AFL level despite a raft of injuries to the pair over the pre-season and the early rounds.

“What our high performance team and our training environment provides is that they’re ready to go … we’re able to expose them to very much a game-like environment that gets them ready,” he said.

If picked, Martin could play an important role in occupying Melbourne interceptor Jake Lever, who Voss said was a “critical” part of the Demons’ defensive structure as Steven May and Tom McDonald free him up by taking the key forwards.

Voss said he wanted more consistency from Carlton’s forwards, but it did not rest entirely with Charlie Curnow, who has kicked multiple goals in every game but not yet exerted the influence he did last season.

“I think our strength is in our collective, and I think (Curnow) buys into that extremely well, so the role we ask him to play and the teammate we want him to be, I’ve been nothing but impressed with how he’s approached that,” Voss said.

“He knows as well as anybody that our success is off the back of being able to get our forward line cohesion right and our connection right.

“He’s got a role within that … but we are all searching for that extra level of consistency in what we do, and he’d be no different.”

The coach also refused to single out Sam Walsh for the defensive error that led to Magpies superstar Nick Daicos streaming through a stoppage for the matchwinning goal in the Blues’ second consecutive loss last Friday.

“I think the part of any strong system is that there’s not necessarily one person that we were sitting on him – we feel like we’ve got a system that caters for if there’s a mistake made or a breakdown made, and the team can recover,” Voss said.

“We felt like as a team in that particular moment that we didn’t get a few things right, collectively as a team.”

He said the Blues would embrace the Demons’ bid to turn the game into a low-scoring slog rather than try to blast the game open with aggressive offence.

“That’s the game they provide for you. You have to work your way through … and you have to be patient and also seek your opportunities when you need to – their defensive structures are very strong,” Voss said.

“We need to be able to make sure that we understand that’s the environment we’re walking into, but we’re going to bring a similar approach.”