Blues alert to Brown, Bradshaw

At Carlton coach Brett Ratten's Wednesday media conference, there were five questions relating to Brisbane powerehouse Jonathan Brown and the Blues' plans to counter his influence at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

Fellow Brisbane and Victorian forward Daniel Bradshaw didn't rate a single mention.

Sure, Brown has tormented the Blues in their past three meetings, attracting three Brownlow Medal votes on each occasion, and scoring a club record 10 goals at the Gabba late last season.

But for all the hype, the fact is Brown is yet to really hit his straps in 2008 and it's Bradshaw who's been doing all the damage with 30 goals compared to Brown's six
after seven rounds, which has him third on the AFL goal-kicking ladder.

According to Carlton assistant coach Mark Riley, however, there's no way that Bradshaw will be allowed to fly under the radar and no-one at Carlton is assuming that Brown won’t suddenly come good.

"I remember at Melbourne we used to always get filled-in by Bradshaw so he certainly hasn’t been forgotten about," said Riley before training at Princes Park on Friday.

"You're never confident going into playing a team with two awesome forwards and a great midfield but our young defence has really grown this year and I think the way we've played we've assisted them with some other defensive mechanisms that we've put in place."

"I just see it as another great learning environment for two young defenders whoever gets them - Jarrad Waite, Paul Bower, 'Jammo' (Michael Jamison) - two of those three and maybe (Setanta) O'hAilpin might get a crack as well.

Riley said he expects champion Brisbane midfielder Simon Black to play despite his withdrawal from last week's Hall of Fame Tribute match with groin soreness the Lions were concerned could develop into a full-blown case of osteitis pubis.

Black's selection for Brisbane makes former Lion Richard Hadley's return from two weeks on the sidelines with a groin strain all the more important for Carlton, according to Riley.

Riley said Hadley, whose decision to quit Brisbane for Carlton last year infuriated coach Leigh Matthews, would provide hardness in the midfield and the 25-year-old had offered some valuable insights into his former team-mates.

"Richard's a steely-eyed competitor and he's come through Leigh's environment, and one of the reasons he's steely-eyed is because Leigh Matthews has coached him," Riley said.

"We're glad that he's in our stable but … what's gone is gone and if Richie was playing against the Brissie Lions, Footscray, West Coast, he plays in the same manner - he sticks his head over it, he wins hard ball, he's a fierce competitor."

Riley said Cain Ackland was preferred to youngster Shaun Hampson as a replacement in the ruck for the injured Cameron Cloke because he offers more maturity, a harder body and his work at the stoppages has been superior over the past month in the VFL.

Riley said the Blues were determined to make Saturday night special for Brendan Fevola and Nick Stevens who play their 150th and 200th AFL matches respectively, and he expects an agreement will soon be struck with Fevola, who told the 'Footy Show' on Thursday that he was keen to re-sign for longer than one year.

"If I was a betting man, which I'm not, I'd be confident that Brendan Fevola would play out his career in the navy blue guernsey," said Riley.

"The contracts will be left to Greg Swann, Steven Icke, 'Ratts' and Fevola's management and I'll just try to win a couple of hardball gets and clearances with the midfield guys."