Carlton knows taking on Gold Coast Suns is no hoilday, says coach Brett Ratten

GOLD Coast's leisurely lifestyle won't be a distraction for Carlton players this weekend as they focus on keeping their season alive.

GOLD Coast's leisurely lifestyle won't be a distraction for Carlton players this weekend as they focus on keeping their season alive.

Coach Brett Ratten dismissed any notion the ninth-placed Blues would simply be chasing a critical percentage boost against the lowly Suns on Saturday night.

"You won't have to guard against complacency," Ratten said yesterday.

"We know exactly where we sit, we have to win games of football. I don't think this group are going to take their eyes off the ball and worry about going to the Gold Coast for a holiday or anything like that.

"The Suns' form at Metricon (Stadium) in a lot of areas of the game is very good. They're six goals better off at Metricon, nine clearances better, they're 36 or 39 possessions better.

"So, we're going to have our work cut out."

Ratten said the Blues, less than one percentage point ahead of eighth-placed Fremantle, were unlikely to risk key defender Michael Jamison's repaired hamstring.

And he feared ruckman Robbie Warnock's season is over with a shoulder injury.

"Michael will probably not play. He has done a bit of running, but the risk side of it (is) to travel off a hamstring," Ratten said.

"That might be Robbie's season with the shoulder.

"There will be a decision after today's training whether we push on or say that's it, we can't go any further."

It's Carlton's first week on the road since Round 12 against West Coast in Perth and Ratten said the trip would help younger players such as Levi Casboult and Tom Bell feel more a part of the team.

"It (mood) has been pretty upbeat for a while. Our form has been pretty solid. So, if we make it (top eight), we'll be in good form. From where we've come from mid-season, if we did make it, yeah, we would be dangerous," Ratten said.

He said the Blues would plan to restrict Suns' skipper Gary Ablett rather than let him run free for 44 possessions, like Hawthorn did at the MCG last Sunday.

"It might be a dual role for a couple of blokes to run with him to try and reduce that influence he has on the game," Ratten said.

"If he has got clean air and space, he'll slice you."