Carlton expected to name Marc Murphy to play against Kangaroos

CARLTON is expected to name midfielder Marc Murphy in the squad for tonight's crucial game against North Melbourne.

Nick Duigan

CARLTON is expected to name midfielder Marc Murphy in the squad for tonight's crucial game against North Melbourne.

Whether Murphy's ready to resume after a fractured shoulder will be determined by the player himself and the club's medical staff.

Assistant coach Mark Riley said today that the Blues would rely on feedback from Murphy after he cooled down from a training session and fitness test at Visy Park yesterday.

Asked if the classy midfielder would be named in the 25, Riley said: "I'm not a trickster. He'll be either in or out for mine. But we'll discuss that later.''

Kangaroos coach Brad Scott rated Murphy an 85 per cent chance of taking the field tonight.

Murphy, who hasn't played for seven weeks, was subjected to a test on his repaired left shoulder with a series of tackles by teammate Ed Curnow and the occasional bump from Andrew Carrazzo.

Great pictures of Marc Murphy's fitness test

Curnow wrapped his arms around Murphy's upper body several times to simulate what would happen at a stoppage at Etihad Stadium tonight.

"He went through a fitness test the other day, pulled up OK. He's doing another one now,'' Riley said.

"We'll know more in an hour (after training), but hopefully he's right. But we won't be taking any risks with a player of that quality.

"He has full range, it will just be the physical elements. If there's any doubts or risks, he won't be risked.

"The last training session is a lot different to playing with AFL intensity for four quarters.''

Blues stand by Judd's Visy deal

The Blues must find a replacement for midfielder Kade Simpson (fractured jaw) and they must continue with a spare-parts ruckman to assist Matthew Kreuzer with Robert Warnock suspended in the VFL.

"The next tall player will come and do second ruckman. I don't think that is too much of a shock. A lot of other teams do that,'' Riley said.

"(Matthew) Watson went into the ruck last week, but as he told us, there were no stoppages. So, we've done a bit of a crash course with him this week.

"Kreuz rucked a lot of the time, a lot of ruckman around the league do that and we'll probably go down that path again this week.''

Nick Duigan

Defender Nick Duigan is likely to start forward against the Kangaroos following his success against the Magpies last week.

"The predicament with our talls has been well documented. Nick is a robust, physical player. He provided a good, aerial contest and a good contest on the ground. It was a bonus the three goals,'' Riley said.

"I thought it was fantastic what Nick showed to the selectors was that he wasn't a one-trick pony and that he gives us that flexibility as a player.''

Riley said the Blues must replicate the pressure that unhinged Collingwood to stem North Melbourne's free-scoring potential.

"They've won four out of five and got beaten by a couple of points by one of the best teams (West Coast) in the land. Their brand is exciting, they can score quickly. So you've got to hem them in and you've got to bring your appetite to defend. We had it the other night (against Collingwood) and we didn't have it the week before,'' he said.