'Taken to the cleaners': Stunned Dees stoop to 16-year low as ...

Clinging to a top-eight spot, Carlton is looking to return to winning ways against premiership fancies Melbourne at the MCG on Thursday night.

The Blues (5-3, 109.8%) are bolstered by the returns of Mitch McGovern and Jack Martin, while Ollie Hollands and Brodie Kemp have also been recalled for the all-important bout.

Meanwhile, the Demons (6-2, 124.3%) have welcomed back defender Jake Bowey after he recovered from an Opening Round collarbone injury, dropping Bailey Laurie in a corresponding move.

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Melbourne is catapulting from a stirring victory over Geelong last Saturday and is looking to claim a fifth win from its past six.

Carlton has lost three of its past four games including last Friday’s heartbreaker against Collingwood, and has axed Lewis Young, Orazio Fantasia and David Cuningham. Zac Williams (injured) also goes out of Michael Voss’ side.

The inclusion of McGovern — who’s been absent since Round 6 — is likely to prove beneficial for Jacob Weitering, whose intercepting influence has been stunted in recent weeks as he’s tried to compensate for Carlton casualties in defence.

“They’ve got to make Weitering great again,” dual premiership Kangaroo David King told Fox Footy.

“They’ve got to get back to the Weitering that was in the back half of last season, not the one we’re seeing now ... this is about Michael Voss and his defensive coach going ‘hey, you shouldn’t be getting taken off the line or going to redundant positions on bits-and-pieces players.”

With McGovern and the aerially able Kemp set to line up alongside Weitering on Thursday, Carlton’s star stopper might be able to get back to his best.

The Demons have won three of their past five matches against the Blues, though Carlton won two of its three meetings with Melbourne last season including their semi-final thriller.

The game gets underway at 7:30pm AEST from the MCG.

Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504), streaming on Kayo or via Hubbl, from 6:30pm AEST.

MATCH UPDATES

Final teams are in for tonight’s clash. There are no late changes, with George Hewett (CAR) and Taj Woewodin (MEL) named the starting substitutes.

With tumbling at the MCG, the ball might end up a cake of soap.

St Kilda great Leigh Montagna said before the game the Demons “do not play well in the wet”, with Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall stating “everything’s going to be simplified tonight” as the panel discussed the weather’s implications.

However, coach Simon Goodwin told Fox Footy pre-game “we’re prepared for wet weather ... for these kinds of conditions.”

On the other side of the ledger, speaking to the panel pre-game, Carlton coach Michael Voss reflected on his side’s recent defensive disharmony and how it correlates with the form of Weitering.

“I think we can concede some of that,” Voss admitted.

“We’ve certainly had plenty of discussion about that, and obviously we’ve been talking over the last couple of weeks about our defence and what it needs to look like, and how we support ‘Weiters’.

“How our system moves together will be important. There (are) obviously individual battles that need to be won, but there’s (also) a system that needs to operate around it, and it has to operate to our strengths.

“We feel like we haven’t quite got that (system) as good as what we need it — certainly not consistent enough — and that’s something we’d like to implement tonight.”

Just prior to the first bounce and the rain appears to have lessened, though conditions will still be slippery in the early stages.

Superstar Blue Sam Walsh has made his impact felt early, snapping the game’s first goal after playing a part in the initial build-up and inside 50.

Marc Pittonet kicked Carlton’s second goal of the contest before Jack Martin — playing his first game of the season — marked impressively over Melbourne’s Jake Lever and booted the Blues’ third major from a set shot.

Harry McKay then marked and kicked Carlton’s fourth-straight goal to make it 4.0 to no score.

The Blues have cornered the Demons on a number of occasions, stifling their attacking chains and hitting back hard in transition.

Tom De Koning kicked his side’s fifth goal of the term to cement a 30-0 lead at the first change.

This is just the second time in the past 33 years Melbourne has been rendered scoreless at QT. The last time came in Round 19, 2008 against Geelong.

“They have made a massive statement, the Blues,” Dunstall told Fox Footy at quarter-time.

“They’ve come out with purpose, they’ve come out with aggression, and they’ve gone bang, bang, bang. They’ve taken their opportunities.”

With his team on the canvas, Christian Petracca might have single-handedly dragged the Demons back into this game.

The bullocking midfielder — playing forward — kicked Melbourne’s first goal of the night, had another shot that missed, and then booted their second to reduce the deficit to 23 points.

Charlie Curnow took a soaring grab but couldn’t capitalise on a set shot from nearly directly in front.

Just a couple of minutes later, though, Patrick Cripps scored Carlton’s seventh goal to restore a 31-point advantage.

Matthew Owies then marked and goaled to establish a game-high 37-point lead, before Melbourne’s Daniel Turner pulled one back with a nice set shot.

Carlton’s half-time buffer was 31 points.

“Carlton have completely outplayed them,” Dunstall told Fox Footy at half-time. “They’ve been able to back (the first quarter) up.”

Sam Walsh has 20 disposals, three clearances, five tackles and a goal to half-time.

“He hasn’t missed a beat. He’s just gone ‘bang’ with his form since he came back in (from injury),” Dunstall added.

Jacob Weitering, whose recent performance has been the subject of discussion, was one of Carlton’s stars in the first half, recording 12 disposals and six marks and playing a key role in quelling Melbourne’s attacks.

“He certainly hasn’t let Michael Voss down in the first half of this game,” Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson told Fox Footy at the main change.

“He’s absolutely taken Harrison Petty to the cleaners in that first half.

“(Brodie) Kemp and (Mitch) McGovern coming back in ... that’s allowed Weitering to get back into that leadership role in defence.”

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