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Blues staying positive in AFL finals hunt

3 minute read

Carlton's AFL finals destiny is in their hands and star defender Jacob Weitering says there are no signs of panic despite a shock loss against Adelaide.

MICHAEL VOSS, Senior Coach of the Blues. Picture: Michael Willson/via Getty Images

The dark days at Carlton are inspiring star defender Jacob Weitering as the out-of-form Blues attempt to book a first AFL finals berth in nine years.

Carlton blew a golden opportunity to nail down their spot in the top eight with an upset 29-point defeat against Adelaide on Saturday night.

It leaves the Blues (12-7) vulnerable with difficult games against the Brisbane Lions (away), Melbourne and Collingwood to round out the regular season.

But a positive Weitering is remaining calm and says Carlton will address their contested game after relenting in the face of fierce pressure from the Crows.

"It's always a tough pill to swallow when you probably get out-hunted," Weitering said on Tuesday.

"It's probably an outlier for us again because we have been really strong in that form of the game.

"I've been through some pretty tough times at this club so coming out after a loss is still very disappointing and we'll certainly learn from what happened on the weekend.

"At the same time we're in a really strong position, the opportunity is there for us to take with both hands and we've got to do that still.

"The coaches, the players and we'll be training bloody hard, putting the mouthguards in and getting the job done."

In Michael Voss' first season as Carlton coach, the Blues were in a strong position to challenge for a top-four berth at 8-2 but have not won consecutive games since round 10.

But the Blues have already put together their best home-and-away season since 2011 when they won 14 games and fell three points short of making a preliminary final.

Weitering was drafted to Carlton with pick one in the 2015 draft and his win-loss record is 42-88 after 130 games.

Meanwhile, Weitering says the club has supported dashing defender Adam Saad after he was allegedly racially abused by a crowd member at Adelaide Oval.

The AFL is investigating claims Saad was called a "terrorist" by a spectator on Saturday night.

Carlton, the Crows and the AFL on Sunday all released statements condemning the alleged treatment of Saad, who will play his 150th career game on Sunday against the Lions.

"When it comes to Saady, you probably won't find a nicer human being in this club and his work amongst the community and him as a person he's just a lovely guy," Weitering said.

"We've wrapped our arms around him and we'll try and support him as much as possible."