Jack Silvagni is unlikely to come into Carlton’s Semi Final team as he recovers from a knee injury.
SEN Chief Sports Reporter Sam Edmund says the Blues swingman has fallen just short of earning a recall, following a report from Seven’s Mitch Clearly that the 25-year-old is expected to miss.
Few selection whispers getting around.
— Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) September 13, 2023
Sources say Jack Silvagni has fallen just short. Hasn’t quite done enough to convince the Blues, who were concerned about the risk of having to make an early sub. Matt Kennedy likely to come in. Gawn & Oliver obviously play despite ailments.
Michael Voss fronted a press conference on Thursday morning and remained tightlipped on his 23 to take on Melbourne on Friday night.
However, he did speak of wanting to keep a settled team that has lost just one game since Round 14.
“Clearly having an aerial presence is going to be pretty important, there’s obviously a couple of players that go well down there on the intercept game and they defend as well as any team in the competition,” Voss said.
“It’ll be a tightly fought match and we’ll have to take those opportunities when we can, certainly our boys are going to have to compete in the air to be able to get the ball on the ground.
“We favour the cohesiveness at this part of the year. We’re fortunate that we've got a lot of players who are in form right now, we’ve been able to have players come in and do really important roles for us and they’ve been fit and healthy and as a result of that they’ve been able to execute really well.
“Certainly our back six and seven have been pretty settled for a few weeks now, so we’ll certainly favour that. Having the midfield group well and truly settled over the last few weeks has been important for us… and we’ve obviously got a few things in the front half we just need to have a think about.”
Those looming calls in the forward line come after Harry McKay’s concussion and Jack Martin’s suspension, both from an Elimination Final win over Sydney.
Silvagni injured his knee in Round 19 before suffering a setback in the VFL. Despite scans suggesting no serious damage, the Blues reported 20 days ago he would miss at least three weeks.
But Matt Kennedy could be firming for a return, with Voss suggesting the former Giant’s experience playing forward holds him in good stead.
“He’s managed to get a fair bit of work under his belt… not just in a training perspective but he was lucky enough to get a game last week as well,” he said on Kennedy.
“That certainly puts him in a good position to come in.”
Kennedy has previously played forward for the Blues, but obviously has primarily played as an on-baller in recent years.