Carlton has called up mid-season draftee Sam Durdin to take on Richmond

A month ago Sam Durdin was working on a construction site, but on Thursday night he’ll be playing on the MCG.

Just 15 days after arriving at Carlton, mid-season draftee Sam Durdin will make his Blues debut on Thursday against Richmond at the MCG in front of up to 70,000 people.

Durdin, who played 22 games for North Melbourne after his AFL debut in 2017, was working on a construction site in South Australia before being drafted out of SANFL club Glenelg.

The 26-year-old defender, who played his first VFL game for the Blues last weekend, will step up in the absence of Caleb Marchbank, who has to undergo knee surgery on a lateral meniscus tear.

Carlton coach Michael Voss said Durdin made it clear from the day he arrived, when he spent hours watching video of the Blues, that he wanted to make an impact.

“I’ve said it a number of times… (injuries) present opportunities for others. Sam Durdin is going to come in and play his first game,” Voss confirmed on Wednesday.

“What a story that is. It’s his second chance and to be able to come back into the side after playing at Glenelg a couple of weeks ago, now he’s going to play against Richmond in front of an MCG crowd.

“The first day he got in, he sat in front of the computer for three-and-a-half hours trying to learn what our style was.

“In the end, I just want him to go out there and back himself. He’s been exposed to this level before, he knows what it’s about and we expect he’ll go out there and give a really strong showing.”

Sam Durd𝒊𝒏.

— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) June 15, 2022

Drafted in the first round by the Kangaroos, Durdin managed just 22 games across six seasons for the Kangaroos before he was delisted at the end of its 2020.

He’s spent the past two seasons playing for Glenelg and was picked up by the Blues at the mid-season draft as they dealt with a backline injury crisis.

Already without Jacob Weitering (shoulder), Mitch McGovern (hamstring), Oscar McDonald (back) and Luke Parks (foot), who all have long-term injuries, Carlton has added Marchbank to that list, which opened the door for Durdin.

Voss said Marchbank, who injured his knee in his first game back in nearly three years last Friday night, was “holding up pretty well” as he faced another stint on the sidelines.

“I had a chat to him yesterday and I guess with every little setback, it’s just a further reminder of how much he really wants to get back,” he said.

“In some ways, him being able to play the game that he did has just fuelled his desire to want to get back and return and get stuck into his rehab. We’ve certainly seen enough to see he’ll add some value to us.”

Caleb Marchbank in his AFL return last Friday night (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Blues will go in as favourites as Richmond on the back of nine wins from their opening 12 games and Voss said it was up to the players to meet those expectations, especially in captain Patrick Cripps’ 150th game.

“We’re in the stage of the season where you get into the back-end and consequences are everywhere, whether it’s you win or lose or the injuries you have or don’t have,” Voss said.

“Our challenge is how we thrive in that. That challenge means there’s opportunities for others to step up, and we’ve had plenty of those.

“It’s given the chance for our list to grow and we’ve seen some of the youth we’ve been able to introduced into the team. They’ve provided exciting parts of our game and given us different looks in the style we want to be able to play.

“The expectations of how we go about it do not change. That’s where we have to thrive.”

Originally published as Carlton has called up mid-season draftee Sam Durdin to take on Richmond