A tantalising duel between Carlton young gun Jacob Weitering and Gold Coast star Tom Lynch will have a big say in the outcome of Saturday night's AFL clash.
Lynch kicked seven goals when the Suns defeated the Blues in round four and Carlton coach Brendon Bolton revealed Weitering will get first crack at curbing Gold Coast's co-captain at Metricon Stadium.
"He'll get a chance to play there, which will be great learning for him," Bolton told reporters at Melbourne airport on Friday.
"(Lynch) is a quality mark ... in fact he's probably as good as anyone in the competition in the air."
Bolton won't be without back-up options if Lynch starts to get the better of No.1 draft pick Weitering, despite Alex Silvagni (knee) joining fellow tall defender Sam Rowe on the injury list last week.
The surprising reinvention of Liam Jones as a key back man in last week's shock one-point win over Greater Western Sydney couldn't have come at a better time for the Blues.
"I'm pleased that that's just a little hint for him that he can do it at that level in that position," Bolton said of Jones.
"I want to bear in mind that it's only one game, he and us are fully aware of that, but all signs are promising.
"It's not just Jonesy's mindset that gave him the opportunity, there was a lot of coaching in and around that."
Bolton made two changes to his line-up, bringing in Sam Petrevski-Seton and Blaine Boekhorst to replace Liam Sumner (adductor) and Silvagni.
Gold Coast, currently 13th, remain unchanged from 22 that defeated Hawthorn to improve to five wins and six losses.
While Lynch starred in front of goal in their last meeting, Gary Ablett bullied the Blues at the stoppages with 34 possessions, 11 clearances and a goal.
The two-time Brownlow Medal winner looms as a major threat to 16th-placed Carlton, who are ranked last in the AFL for clearances.
"There were some stoppages where they got us, so we need to work hard in and around that part of the game," Bolton said, making reference to their round-four encounter.
"(Just) make sure that we're really compliant to our set-ups for the whole four quarters.
"It's interesting ... you can have one person out of position and you get scored against at AFL level.
"So compliance in and around that for longer is important."
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