The line up
| Backs | 6. Kade Simpson | 23. Jacob Weitering | 37. Matthew Shaw |
| Half-backs | 39. Dale Thomas | 14. Liam Jones | 35. Ed Curnow |
| Centreline | 22. Caleb Marchbank | 9. Patrick Cripps | 4. Lochie O'Brien |
| Half-forwards | 25. Zac Fisher | 30. Charlie Curnow | 29. Cameron Polson |
| Forwards | 33. Jarrod Pickett | 7. Matthew Kennedy | 5. Sam Petrevski-Seton |
| Followers | 10. Harry McKay | 2. Paddy Dow | 3. Marc Murphy (C) |
| Extended interchange | 41. Levi Casboult | 21. Jarrod Garlett | 32. Nick Graham |
| 42. Kym Lebois | 27. Matthew Lobbe | 17. Sam Rowe | |
| 1. Jack Silvagni | 46. Matthew Wright |
What to expect
The Blues haven’t won a game in over two months, since their Round 8 win over Essendon.
Over their eight outings since, their average losing margin is 49.2 points.
In their game last week against the Saints, the Blues played 11 players who are 21 years old or younger and their statistics reflect a side that is still finding its feet at senior level.
Across the league the Blues rank 17th for disposals, 18th for contested possessions, 16th for disposal efficiency and 18th for inside 50s.
The Blues have proved the easiest side to score against in the competition this year, being the only side to concede an average of over 100 points per game (101.9).
At the other end of the field, their ability to score has fared similarly poorly, scoring just 62.1 points per game.
Read: Hawks add six names to Round 18 squad
Player to watch
The Blues might be struggling to win their share of contested footy in 2018 but there is one outlier on their list who hasn’t had any issue winning a hard ball this season.
Patrick Cripps is the number one contested possession player in the competition.
The 195cm, 95kg midfield bull is averaging 17.9 contested touches a game while also laying 5.9 tackles per game.
At 23 years of age, Cripps is a young star of the competition and a shining light on an otherwise grim year for the Blues.
