Matthew Knights says this weekend’s match against Carlton will give his young midfielders an important learning experience against an in-form, fierce rival.

“Carlton are a very different team, they’re playing quality football and looked lively against Brisbane last week. It’s going to be a great encounter,"" he said. 
 
""Hopefully we see 80,000 people there. It is going to be a great spectacle and a great rivalry exists between the teams.""
 
Following a fantastic win against Fremantle last week, Knights wants his players to playing an aggressive, attacking brand of football.
 
“After holding back against Port Adelaide the previous week, we let the reins go (against Fremantle),"" he said.
 
“Our midfielders Hocking and Lovett are coming up against the likes of Marc Murphy, Chris Judd and Bryce Gibb which will be a great test. We’re going to have to play some really good football and that’s what we intend to do.
 
“It is a great challenge for some of our young midfield, especially with Reimers, McVeigh, Welsh and Prismall not yet ready. It is good for our group, especially Jobe Watson, who we see as an experienced player but is actually only 23, so still young in his own right. Our boys will become more ready to play facing a tougher midfield.
 
""I love to see our young midfield playing like they did (last week), supporting each other, we want to promote this culture, and I don’t expect we’ll be playing conservative, we’ll be having a real dig.""
 
 
Knights confirmed Mark McVeigh will miss another week to ensure his match conditioning is up to AFL standard following an ankle injury.
 
“We are pretty happy with his ankle, but we have got to make sure he is ok for the whole year; it’s not just about this week. We’ll give him this week and he’ll be almost certain for the week after,” he said.