Exiled Carlton veteran Dale Thomas will have to fight his way back into the AFL side after he completes his one-match ban for drinking alcohol against team rules.
Embattled coach Brendon Bolton backed the leadership group’s decision to banish Thomas to the VFL this weekend after he drank several glasses of wine at a charity function two days before last week’s loss to St Kilda.
The 31-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season, faces a battle to win back the respect of teammates and reclaim his spot in the side after Bolton had refused to guarantee his return in round 13.
“I’m not going to make that call right now … we’ll do what’s best for Daisy and what’s best for us,” Bolton told reporters on Friday.
“There’s lots of layers now … form will be one of them but it won’t be the only one.
“It’ll be also about what balance we need in the team. There’s lots of variables, but I’m not going to sit here and say yes or no based on just one criteria.
“Daisy will be determined, though, because he knows he hasn’t lived up to our standards, but we’ve got to move on.
“We’ve got a game to worry about now – not Daisy. He’s got to get his job done.”
Thomas’ indiscretion could hardly have come at a worse time for the Blues, who are languishing at the bottom of the ladder with a 1-9 record.
They will also face arch-rivals Essendon on Sunday without Kade Simpson and Mitch McGovern.
Simpson pulled up sore after his first game back from a hamstring injury, a setback which Bolton said wasn’t related to that injury, while McGovern would miss a week with an ankle complaint.
Carlton are two games adrift of 17th-placed Gold Coast and in danger of collecting their second wooden spoon under Bolton, whose position has come under increasing scrutiny as the losses mount in his fourth season in charge.
“There’s always pressure in this caper; it doesn’t change; it’s there all the time,” the coach said.
“If you’re on top of the ladder, there’s pressure or, if you’re where we are, there’s pressure.
“What we’ve got to do is to keep working on the things we need to to grow and get over the line.
“We’ve had a couple of games where (the losing margin) was under two goals and six under 20 points so, in (those) games, we’re right in the hunt. We just need to put those games away.”