Coach Brett Ratten says Carlton is not chasing percentage against Gold Coast

CARLTON coach Brett Ratten doesn't care if the Blues win by one point or 100 points against Gold Coast on Saturday night.

Brett Ratten

SUN, surf and sea breeze won't be a distraction for Carlton players this weekend as they focus on keeping alive their season.

Coach Brett Ratten dismissed any notion that the Blues will simply be chasing a vital percentage boost on the Gold Coast on Saturday night.

"You won't have to guard against complacency," Ratten said before training today.

"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. They'll be making sure we get the job done.

"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.

"We just need the four (premiership) points, if we don't get those points, that's our season finished. Whether it's one point, 10 points, I'm not worried.''

Ratten said the Blues were unlikely to risk key defender Michael Jamison's repaired hamstring. And he fears 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 to travel off a hamstring. Unless he came out today and felt 100 percent, I don't think we'll take him,'' he said.

"That might be Robbie's season with the shoulder. It isn't going as well as we would expect and I think they'll be a decision after today's training whether we push on or say that's it, we can't go any further.

"It doesn't look like it has improved, but I haven't heard what the medicos have said this morning.''

Can the Blues make the eight? See our predicted ladder here

Ratten said the Blues will plan to restrict Suns' skipper Gary Ablett rather than let him run free with 44 possessions, as Hawthorn did last Sunday.

"When he's getting 40 (possessions), that rings in your ear. And they've played him a little different at times this season,'' he said.

"He'll have to be stopped, but nearly every team has tried to stop him this season and don't get any result. So it will be a good challenge for whoever gets the role.

"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.

"I think it's the way he uses the ball, the time and space. There's times when you can play on a Simon Black and if he's handballing it more than kicking it, sometimes you can't stop the numbers, but you can stop how they use the football and that will be critical. If he (Ablett) has got clean air and space, he'll slice you.

"His passing and use is outstanding and, if he has got that space, that will be a worry for us.''

It's Carlton's first week on the road since its Round 12 assignment against West Coast in Perth and Ratten said the trip will be good for younger players like Levi Casboult and Tom Bell to feel more a part of the team.

"It (the 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.