AFL 2024: Carlton stars Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay sidelined

The scans are back and the news is not good for Carlton fans as a senior player calls for “perspective” following a catastrophic loss.

Carlton forwards Charlie Curnow (ankle) and Harry McKay (quad) face injury concerns ahead of Carlton’s important trip to Perth. Picture: Daniel Pockett / Getty Images

Carlton will travel to Perth to fight for its season without star duo Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay after pair was ruled out of a must-win clash against West Coast.

The club’s leading goalkickers have both been listed as one-to-two weeks away from a return after scans confirmed a sprained ankle for Curnow and a quad strain for McKay.

The Blues said the hamstring injuries suffered by Adam Saad and Jack Martin were “low grade” and hoped the pair would return within the fortnight, but pressure forward Lachie Fogarty was ruled out for the season with a broken collarbone.

Jordan Boyd, who played out the game at full-forward as his team’s numbers dwindled, suffered “a significant adductor injury” and would join Tom De Koning in missing at least the final two home and away games, the injury update said.

Speaking before the Blues confirmed the injury news, co-vice captain Jacob Weitering said there were young players desperate for an opportunity who could fill the void against the Eagles.

“If anyone’s been watching the VFL in the last couple of weeks, they’ve probably come a long way since the start of the season,” Weitering said on Tuesday.

Harry McKay (quad) and Charlie Curnow (ankle) will both miss at least one game as Carlton fights to keep its season alive. Picture: Michael Klein

“We’ve got some young boys who really want to get a go, and there might be a few opportunities this week.

“There’s an element of (backs to the wall) … but we’ve been in these situations before in recent years, and I think it’s just a test of character, culture, values and the way we play the game.”

Weitering said “without making excuses” for the second-half injury carnage, the Blues had mostly focused their review on the first two terms and had been disappointed by a lack of “connection” and “communication”.

“I guess in a sense we certainly let ourselves down and the fans, and we’ve got a massive opportunity to get it right this week,” he said.

“Not to my memory, (I haven’t seen) that much injury carnage, (but) again we had an opportunity … you look at the first couple of minutes of the second quarter, we had a few shots on goal, we didn’t get it done – they kicked two or three quick ones and the avalanche happened from there.”

Weitering said the players remained focused on delivering results against West Coast and St Kilda and drew a parallel to the position the side was in at this time in 2022.

Jacob Weitering says struggles early in his career at Carlton had helped him gain perspective after the shattering round 22 loss to Hawthorn. Picture: Mark Stewart

“(Two) years ago we were probably in a similar position earlier on in the season and didn’t get it done against Collingwood in that last round,” he said.

“Last year, everyone was saying ‘blow the place up again’. They were calling for Vossy’s head halfway through (the season), and everyone saw what happened.

“Our best is certainly good enough if we play the right way, play with our identity – pressure and contest.”

Weitering said the Blues had to remind themselves of the bigger picture and how much the club had transformed in the last three years to put the loss into perspective.

“You’ve got to understand how far we’ve come as a club, and that’s something we can take great confidence from,” he said.

“I played in a two-win side in 2018, I’ve had three head coaches in my nine years at the club, and especially in the last three years what we’ve been able to build as a club on-field and off-field, the stability we’ve been able to form … it’s exciting times for us, and sometimes you can lose that a bit in the heat of the moment.

“When you’re losing games, it’s never fun … we’ve just got to get back to what really matters, and that’s the process, and then the wins will come.”