Most AFL coaches and players, when tasked with the job of negating Melbourne superstar Kysaiah Pickett, look to the heavens and ask the Lord for help. For Carlton coach Josh Fraser, he found his Lord a lot closer to home at locker 36.
That number belongs to midfielder Cooper Lord, who was given the job of tagging Pickett at stoppages during the Wildcard Final last Saturday night, and the 21-year-old Blue acted with aplomb.
The midfielder's diligence and physicality saw Pickett's influence restricted, while when the gun Demon did have the ball, he went at 32 per cent efficiency.
Lord, like every Carlton player, coach or fan, has had an up-and-down season which saw him hospitalised in late March with a serious knee infection. He spoke earlier in the week about the scary experience.
"I remember the night before surgery, I was watching the Melbourne game earlier in the year, just from a hospital bed, and it is just crazy how things (have) changed so quickly," Lord said.
"It was a little bit scary. I just got a pretty severe infection in my leg, which ended up needing surgery to get out of me, and the whole healing process when you have an open wound in your leg is pretty solid.
"I'm grateful to be back out on the park. When something like that happens, you don't take for granted health, so it's been great to be able to run out there with the boys again.
"I'm lucky the club here is amazing. The medical staff were amazing, coming into the hospital to check on me and all that.
"It was challenging mentally, but I think coming out of it, it made me a better player, ultimately, because you do certainly appreciate the moments you get to be at full health and play the game that's for sure."
Lord returned to the senior side in Round 19 and has played the next seven games for the Blues as they roared into finals.
The 184cm midfielder arrived at the club through the 2024 Mid-Season Draft, six months after missing out on the national draft in his final junior football season.
Emerging star teammate Jagga Smith and Lord have been best friends for years, with the pair attending Scotch College in Melbourne and even coaching the school's 7A football side together.
Lord said the opportunity to play in front of 90,000 at the MCG alongside his best mate is not lost on him.
"It's pretty cool. Me and 'Jags' grew up together. At an early age, we were playing football against each other, and then we ended up going to school together, so you don't probably hear too many cases of two best mates being able to do that," he said.
"And it becomes all the more special when you play finals together. Something that you talk about as a kid and pretend you're doing in the schoolyard, so it's pretty cool to be actually doing that with him."
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Lord's job on Pickett caught the attention of the football world as he and Carlton prepare for a giant challenge to take down fifth-placed Geelong in an Elimination Final this Friday.
When asked if he will be sent to restrict the likes of Bailey Smith or Max Holmes (if he recovers from injury in time), Lord remained tight-lipped.
"I don't know just yet. Still early in the week, so we'll flesh that out throughout the week. But whatever role the coach gives me, I'll be happy to do," he said.
"Kozzy's an amazing player, so I knew it was going to be a pretty big challenge. But I do enjoy the mental battle of going head to head with a player like that.
"His agility and footwork is probably a strength of his. So I tried to put some body work into him, but a lot of it comes down to the work you do throughout the week. And ultimately, you gotta back your ability against his. I went out there with that mindset, and it was good to be able to play on him."
