CARLTON will be forced to make at least one change to the side which got within one straight kick of the Sydney Swans last week.

Draftee Charlie Curnow injured his knee in the third term against the Swans, and will miss Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium.

But it won’t be any of Dale Thomas (calf), Andrew Walker (knee) or skipper Marc Murphy (ankle) who come in to replace the first-year Blue, with all three set for another week on the sidelines.

Tall forwards Liam Jones, Kristian Jaksch and yet-to-debut Harry McKay could come into contention, as could marking utility Andrejs Everitt.

Carlton star Kade Simpson said the Blues would take a lot of confidence out of their recent performances.

The 14^th-placed Blues have got with 10 points of the Swans and fellow top-four contender West Coast Eagles in the past two weeks.

“I think the effort’s been really good up against some real quality opposition,” Simpson said.

“You can’t question the effort, but a couple of fundamental errors and stuff is probably what’s hurting us.”

Simpson said the Blues were looking forward to taking on the Hawks, with former Hawks assistant Brendon Bolton to come up against Alastair Clarkson for the first time.

“I don’t see it as daunting, I see it as a great opportunity for a lot of young guys in our side,” Simpson said.

“They are the best and they have been for about three or four years now. It’s a massive chance for us, there’s no better learning experience than to play such a great team as Hawthorn.”

Simpson has been one of the Blues’ best this season, forming a potent partnership with fellow rebounding defender Sam Docherty across half back.

The 32-year-old averages 26.4 disposals per game this year, with Docherty averaging 25.9 and midfielder Bryce Gibbs also having a fine season, averaging just shy of 27 disposals per match – and being the Blues’ equal leading goalkicker with 16 majors.