WHO: North Melbourne v Carlton
WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, Saturday May 21, 7:25pm AEST
TV AND RADIO: Broadcast guide
TICKETS: Purchase tickets

THE LAST FIVE

R18, 2015, North Melbourne 18.10 (118) d Carlton 8.6 (54) at Etihad Stadium
R18, 2014, Carlton 16.13 (109) d North Melbourne 13.8 (86) at Etihad Stadium
R17, 2013, Carlton 16.13 (109) d North Melbourne 16.12 (108) at Etihad Stadium
R16, 2012, North Melbourne 24.5 (149) d Carlton 14.12 (96) at Etihad Stadium
R19, 2011, Carlton 11.14 (80) d North Melbourne 9.8 (62) at Etihad Stadium

SUMMARY (AFL.COM.AU)

A month ago, this match would have held minimal interest for the neutral supporter, but Carlton's four-game winning streak and North Melbourne's wake-up call against Essendon have renewed intrigue in the Etihad Stadium contest.

The Blues' self-belief is sky-high following a come-from-behind triumph over Port Adelaide and Brendon Bolton is not just getting his team to play to a system, he's also rejuvenated Carlton's talented older players.

The Blues have the stingiest defence of any team outside the top eight and won't be overawed by the undefeated Roos, who are deserved League leaders but face a test of the premiership credentials leading into the round 15 bye.

Jarrad Waite (25 goals) has been pivotal for North and the ex-Blue will be keen to lead his new team to nine-straight wins to start a season for the first time in club history.

Jarrad Waite has been in career-best form this year.

THE HEADLINES

Can't waite
Jarrad Waite will enter Saturday night's clash against Carlton with less pre-game jitters than last time… MORE

Farren finally picked
When Brad Scott made a beeline towards Farren Ray after main skills on Wednesday, the veteran winger wasn’t sure what to think… MORE

Opposing Threat: Carlton
With four wins in a row, Carlton has been the surprise of the league in the last month… MORE

TEAMS

North Melbourne

Backs M.Firrito 11 R.Tarrant 25 L.McDonald 21
Half Backs N.Dal Santo 15 S.Thompson 16 S.Atley 18
Centreline S.Gibson 43 A.Swallow 9 J.Macmillan 34
Half Forwards B.McKenzie 2 J.Waite 30 B.Harvey 29
Forwards B.Brown 50 D.Petrie 20 L.Thomas 12
Followers T.Goldstein 22 B.Cunnington 10 J.Ziebell 7
Interchange T.Dumont 14 A.Mullett 17 R.Nahas 28 F.Ray 44
Emergencies R.Clarke 13 M.Daw 38 C.Wagner 41

In: M.Firrito , F.Ray , T.Dumont
Out: M.Daw (Omitted) , B.Jacobs (Foot) , M.Wood (Concussion)

Carlton

Backs C.Byrne 38 S.White 43 J.Weitering 23
Half Backs S.Docherty 15 L.Plowman 20 Z.Tuohy 42
Centreline J.Lamb 13 P.Cripps 9 D.Armfield 27
Half Forwards D.Thomas 39 L.Jones 14 M.Wright 46
Forwards A.Everitt 33 S.Rowe 17 E.Curnow 35
Followers D.Gorringe 37 B.Gibbs 4 M.Murphy 3
Interchange K.Simpson 6 S.Kerridge 11 A.Walker 1 L.Sumner 19
Emergencies N.Graham 32 B.Boekhorst 12 C.Wood 36

In: S.White , D.Gorringe , J.Weitering
Out: M.Jamison (Illness) , M.Kreuzer (Knee) , L.Casboult (Leg)

Trent Dumont is set to line up for his first AFL game of 2016.

THE COACH SAID

THE SIX STATS (AFL.com.au)

1. Led by Todd Goldstein in the ruck, the Kangaroos have been one of the strongest centre-clearance sides and are ranked fourth (averaging 14.4 per game), while the Blues have struggled in this area (ranked 18th at 9.6 per game).

2. North and Carlton meet for the 153rd time and the Blues hold a big advantage, winning 97 games to 55. The last decade has belonged to the Kangaroos, though, with seven wins to four.

3. The Kangaroos' scoring has gone south recently. In the opening five rounds they averaged 122 points per game, but that has fallen to 72 points per game over the last three weeks.

4. North Melbourne has dominated Carlton at Etihad Stadium, winning 11 of 16 contests, with five by more than 50 points.

5. North Melbourne will be aiming for nine consecutive wins for the first time since rounds 5-14, 1999 when they won 10 in a row, their last premiership season. Carlton will be looking for five consecutive wins for the first time since rounds 14-18, 2000.

Liam Jones has been important for the Blues in recent weeks.

THE BURNING QUESTIONS

How will Waite fare?
Blue-turned-Roo Waite faces his former side for the second time since joining North as an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2014. In his first appearance against his ex-club in round 18 last season – which coincidently marked his 200-game milestone – Waite kicked two goals from his 13 disposals in the 64-point win. This time, however, the Blues are a vastly different team under new coach Brendon Bolton, who has instilled a huge amount of self-belief in his squad. Waite and his fellow forwards will have to contend with an organised Blues defence this Saturday night.

Bolton's Blues a real threat?
Surprisingly, Carlton entered last Sunday's clash against Port Adelaide with the third oldest team (26.20 average age) behind Geelong (26.28) and North (27.30). Overall, the Blues have improved in several key areas in defence, ranking 17th in the competition last year for opposition scores per inside 50 entries (49.8 per cent) to fifth (45.6 per cent) this year. Opposition marks inside 50 have also dropped significantly after round eight, from 18th last season (14.6 per game) to fifth (10.6), and they've conceded fewer points from turnovers and stoppages. These stats further highlight how the Blues have been able to tighten their defence under Bolton.

Whose winning streak will end?
One team's winning run will come to an end this weekend. North has a chance to beat its record for the most consecutive wins to start a season after last week's win over Essendon matched the mark set in 1978. In that '78 season, they won their first eight matches, before succumbing to Carlton at Princes Park in round nine. The Blues, on the other hand, are out to make it five consecutive wins for the time in 17 seasons.

Who will stand tall?
Carlton's two-point win over Port Adelaide was soured by knee injuries to its 200cm ruckman Matthew Kreuzer and 199cm goalkicker Levi Casboult. With the senior pair to miss, it remains unclear whether their replacement Daniel Gorringe – will be able to adequately fill the deficiencies in height and experience. North big man Todd Goldstein will be aiming to capitalise on the Blues' lack of height at the ruck contests.

Will North adopt a tagger?
With Ben Jacobs out injured, it will be worth noting whether North hands a tagging assignment onto another midfielder. The Blues' elder statesmen – skipper Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs, Ed Curnow, Dale Thomas – have all improved under Bolton and may receive some extra attention when roaming through the middle, even without Jacobs.

‘Greeny’ and ‘Watto’ know best?
The clash will be the first time assistant coaches Shane Watson and Brad Green cross paths with their former clubs. Watson, who is now Carlton's forwards coach, has undoubtedly been a big contributor at the Blues' match committee meeting this week. Over his six-year stint at Arden Street, Watson first oversaw the defensive line, before coaching the forwards in his final two seasons. Green, meanwhile, joined the Roos in last year's off-season and will have also passed on some valuable advice to his defenders after spending the past three years at Carlton.

Brad Green was an assistant at the Blues before joining North.