There were no selection promises, but Carlton coach Brett Ratten has hinted strongly that midfielder Brock McLean will be retained for Friday night's clash with his former club, Melbourne.
McLean seemed to struggle with the tempo in last Friday night's two-point loss to Geelong which was his first match at AFL level since Round 10 last season.
But Ratten said there were more positives than the 25-year-old's raw stats - 12 possessions and five tackles - suggest.
"He won a bit of the ball, he pressured pretty well, so I think that was a plus for him," Ratten said.
"It's a hard transition when you have to come into the team and perform straight away."
Asked whether it would be 'soul destroying' for McLean to be dropped after just one match, Ratten said: "I think it would be."
"It would be fairly unfair."
"It's hard to just come in and flick a switch."
"I thought he performed adequate, he got a tick, but we'll have to look at what the team requires this week to get the four points."
Ruckman Rob Warnock, who spent two nights in hospital after copping a knock to the head late in the clash with the Cats, is rated as 'doubtful' to take on the Demons.
Shaun Hampson is his likely replacement.
Ratten said skipper Chris Judd had fully recovered from the foot injury which slowed him down in the second half against Geelong and was 'all clear' to play, while LachieHenderson is in the selection mix to be used as a third tall up forward.
Matthew Kreuzer will play 75-percent game time in the VFL in his second competitive hitout following last year's knee reconstruction.
Meanwhile, Ratten said he'd had a quiet word with mature-aged recruit Nick Duigan to tone down his body language.
The 26-year-old defender gifted the Cats a goal for verbal abuse of an umpire and was involved in a heated on-field squabble with team-mate Denis Armfield after the Blues conceded a soft goal to Tom Hawkins.
"We've had a chat about it and we probably won't see it again," Ratten said.
"Sometimes maybe you might express yourself with your body language a little bit over the top ... but when you look behind it, it was to get success for the team."
"Sometimes maybe you do cross the line a little bit and ... frustration can bubble over, but what I don't want to take away from Nick Duigan is his spirit and the way he plays the game."