Fremantle defender Lee Spurr expects a fierce contest against young Carlton side that has been energized under first-year senior coach Brendan Bolton.
Although Carlton are yet to win a game so far in 2016, Spurr said Freo wouldn’t expect anything less than a competitive game of football on Sunday.
“They’ve come out and been really competitive and hard working team,” Spurr said.
“We know what they’re going to bring.
“They’re going to bring effort, and they’ve instilled some values in their group and that’s going to bring some really strong competition.”
Talking points: Rd 5 v Carlton
Spurr expects a tight contest in the midfield, and while Carlton possess a talented group of mids, the Freo defender said his teammates would be up to the challenge.
“They have some quality players and you have to respect them, but we’ve got some quality mids as well,” he said.
Pressure from midfielders and forwards would assist Freo in defending more effectively, according to Spurr.
“We trust our mids and forwards to put really good pressure on,” he said.
“When they put that pressure on it makes our job a lot easier when the ball is coming in scrappy.
“It gives us a chance to get a fist in and play our role, and we need to stand up this week and defend better because at times we defended poorly on the weekend.”
Spurr’s role as a defender will mean navigating through Carlton’s tall targets up forward.
Matthew Kruizer, Sam Phillips and Levi Casboult have all seen time up forward in 2016, but Spurr said the challenge also brings opportunity for Freo.
“They’ve got some really tall marking targets and with that comes the counter measure of trying to run off,” he said.
“They have to balance that run and attack, and we need to defend and support when we have to."
