Carlton coach John Barker says Saturday’s impending clash with ladder leader Fremantle will be a terrific education for his young players.

With a growing injury list Carlton is likely to take some of its young stars on the trip west this weekend.

In his weekly message to members Barker said he’s expecting Freo to come out “breathing fire” … and his players will need to show more than they did in the disappointing result against Richmond.

Match Preview: Fremantle v Carlton

“We probably need to sustain the type of effort that we’ve had in previous weeks, I don’t think we quite hit the same level that we have,” Barker said.

“Some of our transition probably wasn’t as good as we’d like, and we know that our skill level needs to grow – as individuals and as a team we need to take responsibility for that.”

Fremantle play Carlton at Domain Stadium on Saturday 18 July. Bounce down is at 5.40pm.