ALTHOUGH Carlton is likely to lose two important defenders heading into this week’s game, assistant coach Dale Amos is confident the team has the depth in the list to be able to fill the vacancies down back.

With both Kade Simpson and Nic Newman set to be sidelined for the next three weeks, the Blues will have to call upon their young defensive talent who have been developing their craft with the Northern Blues in the VFL.

The opportunity to step-up to the senior level could go to a whole host of Blues’ players, with a quartet of young Blues potentially in line for a call-up.

“The pleasing thing for us is that we’re starting to build a bit of depth through our VFL program,” Amos said on SEN Afternoons.

“Liam Stocker has built a reasonable body of work as a defender, Tommy Williamson is back and has played a couple of games, same with Harrison Macreadie and Angus Schumacher who hasn’t made his debut but has certainly been one of our really strong contributors in the VFL.”

Williamson is one of the players Blues’ fans would be particularly eager see back on the field.

Having not played a senior game of football since Round 23 in 2017, Williamson has gained valuable game time through a handful of games with the Northern Blues.

For Amos, the 20-year-old has been consistently building for a return, and could be in line for selection in the coming weeks.

“He’s been training for a good month of full training prior to those two games,” Amos said.

“He’s really well-positioned to be able to come back and play, and cope with playing without too many issues.

“It’s good that we’re in that position, and we’re in a place where he could come back in if we needed to.”

Down two defensive rotations and facing the increasing pressure from a fast-moving Hawthorn outfit, Amos was proud of the fight shown by the likes of Jacob Weitering, Liam Jones and Lachie Plowman in the second half.

It was the experience demonstrated by Dale Thomas, however, which impressed Amos the most.

Thomas showed class, poise and an on-field maturity collecting 25 disposals, seven rebound 50s and eight marks to lead his teammates against the Hawks’ second-half fightback.

“The one I was really pleased with was Daisy Thomas,” he said.

“Daisy was exceptional behind the ball in being able to help to organise and set things up. I think he’s a really calming influence.

“He sees the game a bit like ‘Simmo’, he sees the game really well and he was able to provide a lot of composure.

“It’s difficult to replace someone like [Simmo]. It’s probably something we’ve dealt with with Doc not being there through a period of time as well, those on-field generals.

“There were some positive signs from that point of view. We did miss him but I think particularly Daisy really stepped up to the plate and was fantastic in that role.”

The Blues will now look to put the disappointment of last week’s loss behind them, as they prepare to face North Melbourne this Sunday at Marvel Stadium.