Bolton backs star in a slump

CARLTON coach Brendon Bolton is standing by underfire defender Jacob Weitering as the former No.1 draft pick battles the first serious form slump of his career.

Weitering burst on to the scene in 2016 and played every game in a solid 2017 season, but his quiet start to the year has drawn attention and Paul Roos declared he may need to spend time in the VFL.

Bolton said Weitering was losing the mental battle as opposed to the physical one.

“He can overthink it at times and that’s quite normal for a young guy. That’s what happens,” Bolton said.

“Form is never permanently down or permanently up ... they don’t lose their body or their ability, it’s just the way they’re thinking about things.

“I think he played a really good game in the JLT against Hawthorn and in the last few weeks Jacob will admit he’s been a little bit down and it just shows the power of the mind.”

Bolton said he had spent the week largely simplifying things for the 20-year-old, who will start in defence against rival Collingwood tonight.

“He’s got real clarity this week on his role down back and focusing on that. It’s just typical of a young guy in his third year, making sure their thoughts dictate their actions and that’s a learned behaviour, a mindset,” Bolton said.

“We’re backing ‘Weiters’ in. That’s the main point out of today, we’re backing him in and he’s really clear on what he needs to do and we’ll see how it goes.”

Matthew Kreuzer (groin) and Matthew Kennedy (ankle) will both make their returns against the Pies, but Jack Silvagni will spend at least another week in the VFL, despite kicking three goals for the Northern Blues at the weekend. Ciaran Byrne will miss up to a month with a strained quad.

Bolton said full-back Liam Jones would need to make minor changes to his game, with his trademark eagerness backfiring against the Gold Coast and Tom Lynch, who kicked eight goals.