FINDING a fill-in centre half-forward will be a priority for Carlton over the next month, with No.1 draft pick Matthew Kreuzer one candidate for the spot left open by Brad Fisher.

The Blues confirmed earlier this week that Fisher broke his thumb in the win over Port Adelaide on Saturday and could miss up to the first four rounds of the home and away season.

Coach Brett Ratten said several players would be given the opportunity to try to fill the hole over the remaining pre-season games.

"We'll try a lot of players through centre half-forward," Ratten said.

"Matty Kreuzer played a bit last week there, (Bret) Thornton played a little bit there last week, we've got (Adam) Hartlett who's sort of in the mix to get a game this week.

"If he doesn't play this week, he'll play next week, so we need to rejig and find a bloke who can present and work as hard as what Brad Fisher does and have an impact on the scoreboard as well."

Complicating the issue is that Ratten intends to settle Jarrad Waite permanently at centre half-back this season, after he swapped forward and defensive roles last year.

Asked whether 18-year-old Kreuzer, the No.1 NAB AFL Draft pick, was ready to slot into the difficult centre half-forward spot, Ratten said he could probably only do so in stints so early in his career.

"Like most of our players he needs to be rotated ... whether he's a deep forward or a high forward or can he run around and play a little bit on the ball," Ratten said.

"You don't want to throw him into the ruck straightaway, just let him find his feet and get the tempo of the game, compete at some ball-ups and boundary throw-ins in the front half and just find his feet."

He added the Blues were wary of placing too much strain on the teenager, particularly as his short time with the club had already included a pre-season training trip to South Africa, followed by last weekend's game in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, ex-Brisbane recruit Richard Hadley could make his Blues debut in Saturday night's Telstra Dome clash with Hawthorn, after recovering from a knee injury.

His fitness would be assessed at training.

Ratten said the Blues wanted to use every player on their list during the pre-season, with new captain Chris Judd likely to play in the final round of pre-season matches.