Carlton midfielder Adam Cerra is confident his club can cover the absence of Harry McKay as they make a belated push towards finals.
The Blues' start to 2025 has been less than desirable (6-7), but they still remain in the hunt for September action, all of which was hindered when the Coleman medallist was ruled out for the next six weeks with a knee injury.
Blues coach Michael Voss has been forced to throw the magnets around in 2025, utilising some depth options and emerging youngsters to help fill the void.
Cerra, who is hopeful Charlie Curnow gets up for the North Melbourne clash, says the club is in an exciting position where new faces are pressing their case for the senior team.
"We've seen the last couple of weeks, some young players coming in, taking opportunity," Cerra said.
"Hudson O'Keefe, over the last couple of weeks, Harry Lemmey has been playing some really good football in the VFL.
"Then we're not just purely relying on tall forwards down there, we've got our smalls getting to work - Lachie Fogarty, Zac Williams, since he's come back from injury. So for us, it's next man up.
"We've got many capable players, but also we're not relying on one or two forwards. We've got multiple avenues of scoring, and that's how we want to play."
O'Keefe has been ruled out after sustaining a low-grade hamstring strain in the win over West Coast.
Carlton could unveil a sixth debutant for 2025, with young forward Harry Lemmey demanding a spot in Voss' side.
Lemmey has kicked 15 goals in his past four VFL games, including a haul of seven against Sydney, as well as four against the Northern Bullants last week.
The 21-year-old could be considered to take on the Kangaroos if Curnow is unavailable, while the absence of McKay and O'Keefe will definitely put him in selection discussions.
Depth ruckman Marc Pittonet always poses as an interesting prospect after dominating in the VFL.
Voss has been reluctant to play two traditional rucks in his side, and given North Melbourne only has Tristan Xerri, while Jack Darling assists in the role, the Blues may look to add more speed to their line-up.
Mitch McGovern was swung forward to good effect and could remain there this weekend, with Lachie Cowan expected to return from a hamstring injury to bolster the backline.
