Carlton coach David Teague has identified a need for the club to acquire an inside-outside midfielder.

Teague’s Blues lost to the Giants on Thursday night by nine points after leading for most of the night.

In his press conference post-match, Teague was asked about the body of Patrick Cripps, who has looked a bit worn-down in previous weeks.

“He came in with a decent corky this week from that Mayne hit (last week), not so much a knee…but he seemed to get through the game okay,” Teague said.

“We need to spread the load and get an even spread of players and we’ve shown throughout the year we can do that at times.”

When asked by the media whether or not the Blues would be looking to target another big-bodied midfielder to support Cripps, Teague said that the Blues do have enough of those type of players.

“Probably not the big-bodied midfielder. Ed Curnow is pretty strong and Will Setterfield we think is going to be a big-bodied midfielder as well,” he said.

“We’re probably looking more for the inside-outside guys that can burst out of there and give us a bit of run throughout our midfield.”

Is out-of-contract Giant Zac Williams the answer for Carlton?

Eligible for free agency at the end of this season, 25-year old Williams has been strongly linked to a move to Victoria as the Giants face a salary cap squeeze, with Carlton, Essendon and North Melbourne all in the hunt to land him.

Williams has played 111 games for the Giants since his debut in 2013 and has showed his worth in the team as both a rebounding half-back flanker and as an inside midfielder.