Carlton want to avoid another shoot-out at the MCG, but it's Essendon who are preparing to not give too much attention to the Blues' big weapons.

The Bombers are considering scaling back on the tags they put on Carlton's midfield, which could give the likes of Chris Judd, Marc Murphy and the returning Nick Stevens a free run in Saturday night's round three clash.

Essendon coach Matthew Knights this week said the Bombers did not want to be too conservative, and Dons onballer Jason Winderlich backed up that view on Friday.

"They've got some terrific players in there - Judd, Murphy, (Bryce) Gibbs, and (Richard) Hadley's playing well," Winderlich said.

"But I think our midfield stood up well last week and it's a great challenge for us.

"You can only tag one. If you tag two or three, they'll dictate the space around the stoppages, and open it up for themselves.

"If we can get first use around the stoppages, then it obviously cuts them out."

On the face of it, Essendon leaving the Blues unchecked would play into Carlton's hands, as Gibbs is averaging 32 disposals a game, Murphy 26, Hadley and Kade Simpson 25 apiece and Judd 24.

Stevens' return from suspension only strengthens that brigade, while Essendon remain without two of their better onballers, Mark McVeigh and Andrew Welsh, because of leg injuries.

Carlton assistant coach Matthew Lappin tried to remain diplomatic on Friday, but was confident his side's ball winners could hurt the Bombers if allowed too much space.

"I'd like to think our midfield could go with those guys head to head," Lappin said.

"But they've got some super players who really know how to break the lines, the Andrew Lovetts of the world, Jobe Watson in and under (packs).

"We'll try to get some cover set up in place and hopefully we're winning more of the ball and we're sending it our way rather than chasing them."

Essendon have reason for keeping the game open, having beaten their rival in two high-scoring clashes in 2008, and booted a combined 43 goals in the two games.

But Lappin felt Carlton had become a much better defensive team from a year ago, when they leaked too many easy goals.

"There were areas there defensively as a team, where we needed to get better and I think we've been able to do that," he said.

"First week against Richmond we defended really well and then last week the Lions just got to 100 points, so it's been a massive focus of ours as a team, total team defence.

"Hopefully we're a bit better in that area this year than last year."

With the focus on defence, the Blues are taking no chances with Essendon key forwards Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas, who have managed just two goals between them this season.

"They've been quality players for 10, 12 years, so you write them off at your peril," Lappin said.

"Lloydy had his hands on a few last week and he looked like he was really close to grabbing a few big grabs and kicking some goals.

"It's unfortunate for us that (defender Michael) Jamison has gone down (with a shoulder injury), but we're going to need a couple of other guys to step up because those two are going to be really important for them come tomorrow night."

In better news for Carlton, full-forward Brendan Fevola looked untroubled by his lingering heel soreness at training.

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