Coach Michael Voss insists spearhead Charlie Curnow is delivering what Carlton need as the Blues prepare to front Melbourne's stingy defence.
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After Curnow was held to two goals by Collingwood, Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said he was getting caught wrestling his opponent deep too much, and queried whether he showed enough fight when things weren't going his way.
"The strength is in our collective, that's what I think - and I think he buys into that extremely well," Voss said.
"The role we ask him to play, the teammate we want him to be - I've been nothing but impressed with how he's approached that.
"And he knows as well as anybody that our success is off the back of being able to get our forward line cohesion right and our connection right.
"He's got a role within that. He's got to be a competitor within that. But we are all searching for that extra level of consistency in what we do, and he'd be no different."
Curnow and Harry McKay will have to deal with a Melbourne defence led by Steven May, Jake Lever and Tom McDonald in Thursday night's blockbuster at the MCG.
The Demons (6-2) have conceded an average of just 66 points this season, while May and Lever in particular have influenced games with their intercept marking and drive from defence.
"That's the game that they provide for you, so you have to work your way through that and you have to be patient and also seek your opportunities when you need to," Voss said.
"Clearly, their defensive structures are very strong. They've shown that not just over the short term, they've shown that over a very long period of time.
"What I admire about Melbourne is their real discipline to be able to get their roles done.
"They know who they are, what they bring and they stay true to it.
"For us, we need to make sure we understand that and that's the environment we're walking into, but we've got to bring a similar approach and take our opportunities when we get them."
Melbourne counterpart Simon Goodwin is looking forward to the contest.
"It's going to be an exciting area of the ground,'' he said.
"It's an area that we value highly, and clearly with Curnow and McKay, they're fantastic players and have a huge impact on the game.
"There's no doubt they're huge for them, and we back our defenders in to get the job done.
"It's going to be a massive part of the game in terms of the method to help restrict that, but also the match-ups."
Carlton have made four changes for the clash, with Jack Martin and Mitch McGovern back from hamstring injuries, alongside Ollie Hollands and Brodie Kemp.
Caleb Marchbank has been given another week to recover from his back injury.
Blues defender Zac Williams has been ruled out with glute soreness, while David Cuningham, Orazio Fantasia and Lewis Young were dropped.
The Demons welcome back Jake Bowey after his eight-week stint on the sidelines following shoulder surgery, with Bailey Laurie the only omission.
Australian Associated Press
