CARLTON'S midfield has a tough job on the weekend as it looks to take on a formidable Collingwood in the rivals’ second match-up this season.

While the Blues could be bolstered by the return of midfielder Matthew Kennedy, they will again line up without injured skipper Marc Murphy.

In his third successive term as midfield coach at Carlton, Tim Clarke gives Carlton Media his thoughts on the tasks ahead.

What is the main focus for Carlton heading into the game against Collingwood?

We see this weekend’s game as a real challenge. The Pies have got a really good midfield. The last four or five weeks they’ve been one of the best midfields in the competition. We’re really looking forward to the challenge. We spoke about it early in the week in one of our line meetings and the boys are really excited for this week’s game. 

What are the main takeaways for the players coming out of the Fremantle game?

The main takeaways coming out of the Fremantle game are that we need to move the ball a little bit better and give the forwards a chance to be able to kick a score, and when we turn the ball over we need to defend with more intensity. On the weekend our midfielders need to get after the Collingwood players when they win the ball and then work back to support our defenders.

What are the main goals for the rest of the season?

It wasn’t the start we were looking for but we’re looking to build on what we built on in the first half of the season. We want to create good synergy amongst the group. In the midfield, this is the first time that a lot of the players have played together, like Patrick Cripps getting used to playing with Paddy Dow. Zac Fisher and Samo Petrevski-Seton have been playing more game time through there, so it’s a really good opportunity for these guys to work hard together and build some momentum leading into the final games of the season.

Carlton plays Collingwood at the MCG from 3.20pm on Sunday.