The Northern Blues will be looking to get their season back on track against Richmond at Preston City Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Crashing back down to earth after a 103-point loss to reigning premiers Footscray, a win against the 12th-placed Tigers is a non-negotiable if the Blues are to mount a finals charge.

The Blues will welcome back some much-needed Carlton experience and familiar faces to the side, with Ciaran Byrne and Sam Rowe’s respective returns from injury headlining eight inclusions to an extended squad.

Blaine Boekhorst, Blaine Johnson and Mark Whiley all return after featuring for the AFL side last week, while Zach Ballard, Lachie Kilpatrick and Michael Mattingly round out the inclusions to the squad.

Mattingly - a Northern Knights product - will make his debut as 23rd man, while Lachie Kilpatrick could also debut having been named on the extended bench.

Having fielded only 110 games of current AFL experience last week against the Dogs, the five Carlton inclusions are a much-welcomed boost for Northern.

With Tom Fields’ superb VFL form seeing him earn an AFL debut, the Carlton contingent fronting up for Northern has risen to 14. Daman Aujla, Steve Murray and Ben Walton are the other exclusions from the 27-man squad.

While the Blues will be looking to rebound from a 103-point loss, the Tigers couldn’t be coming into the game off a more different run of form: they broke a four-game losing streak last week against North Ballarat.

Despite having lost Shaun Hampson to AFL selection, the Tigers could still front up with three tall forwards in Liam McBean, David Astbury and Reece McKenzie - son of 1987 Carlton premiership player, Warren.

The returning Rowe looks likely to get the job on McBean, who was the Tigers’ chief contributor on the scoreboard last week with four goals in a low-scoring 32-point victory.

With Hampson’s omission, Ivan Soldo looks likely to single-handedly take on the burden of the ruck role directly opposed to Alex Aurrichio.

Chris Knights continues his return from injury in the VFL side for the second straight week, while the Tigers' VFL list is littered with AFL experience through Andrew McQualter, Ed Barlow and ex-Carlton rookie Jaryd Cachia.

Whiley, Brad Walsh and Brent Bransgrove will have their work cut out for them in the clinches, with Cachia (now Richmond’s captain) spearheading a solid Richmond midfield alongside Matt Thomas and Matthew Arnot.

While Northern have recalled some AFL-listed youth of their own, the Tigers will also feature some early Richmond draft picks in Ben Lennon and Connor Menadue.

The game commences from 12:12pm at Preston City Oval. You can catch all the action at home, with the game being broadcast on Channel 7 - coverage begins from 12pm Saturday.

Northern Blues Player Watch

Ciaran Byrne: Byrne returns from a three-month injury layoff with a hamstring strain, with his last game being his AFL debut against Essendon in Round 3. Having struggled to gain any meaningful territory against the Dogs last week, Byrne is a welcomed addition to the side with his run and carry having been sorely missed in recent weeks. Byrne should be given license to roam, with Kristian Jaksch, Kieran McGuinness and the returning Sam Rowe likely to get the jobs against the Tigers’ tall forwards.

Blaine Boekhorst: Having been given a taste of AFL football with a full game against the Western Bulldogs last week, first-round draft pick Blaine Boekhorst will front up at Preston City Oval on Saturday. Boekhorst - who was in superb form for Northern prior to his AFL call-up - will play a key role in the Blues’ midfield brigade, given the forecasted conditions promise a tight, contested battle in the middle.

Matthew Watson: Receiving very limited opportunity in the comprehensive loss to Footscray last week, Matthew Watson will be looking to make amends with a big performance on Saturday. Just one goal behind the leaders in the VFL goal-kicking, Watson will be hoping to exploit an undersized and undermanned Richmond defence. The last time Watson, Liam Jones, Blaine Johnson and Jayden Foster all featured in the same forward line, the quartet combined for 18 goals in the 157-point demolition job of Frankston.