LEVI Casboult and Marc Pittonet are well-placed to shoulder Carlton’s ruck duties, according to Director of High Performance Andrew Russell.
The pairing have been “standouts” on the training track as the days tick down to football’s return, with Russell praising the duo for their commitment to their preparation.
Matthew Kreuzer was sidelined in Round 1 with a foot fracture, while emerging youngster Tom De Koning will miss in Round 2 after sustaining an ankle sprain on Monday.
Russell is someone who knows Pittonet well, who arrived at Ikon Park from Hawthorn in last year’s trade period.
“Pittonet has never been in good a shape as he is right now: he has trained and prepared and lived as well as I have ever seen him since I’ve known him,” Russell said.
“I’ve known him for a while, with our time at Hawthorn together. I’m really impressed with the way he’s gone about it.
“He’s as lean as he’s ever been in terms of body composition but he’s as heavy as he’s ever been. He’s strong.”
The merit of Casboult is well-known to Carlton supporters, with the veteran producing a strong performance in the ruck against the reigning premier in Kreuzer’s absence.
Russell said Casboult - coming off a career-best season - had set the example at training from day one.
“Casboult has trained well for a long time now,” he said.
“He came back in really good shape and has been really impressive.”
Monday marked the return to contact training and the announcement of the opening month of fixtures, as Russell said he’s “never seen more corkies in a training session”.
While much has been made of how different the competition looks in 2020, Russell said the fact that Carlton will play every Saturday provides a sense of normality.
“They got stuck in [on Monday]. You could see that it’s what footy players love doing,” he said.
“For us, it’s a normal season. It’s no different to any other season that I’ve been involved in [seven-day breaks].
“It makes it pretty simple for us in the first four rounds. We’ll have a really strong routine.”
