Carlton fullback Michael Jamison has backed Eddie Betts to find form as part of a mobile Blues attack he believes can unsettle Adelaide.

Jamison says the Crows' tall defence has been a strength for them this season, led by Ben Rutten.

But the Blues aim to combat that with speed, having dropped tall forward Lachie Henderson and the medium-sized Andrew Collins in favour of the smaller Aaron Joseph and David Ellard for Saturday night's Etihad Stadium AFL clash.

"Adelaide are a very structured side and their tall backs have been going pretty well," Jamison said on Friday.

"We hope that Jeff Garlett and Eddie, and we've brought some smaller players in, we hope they can zip around the forward line and cause some headaches."

A similar tactic paid off when the sides last met, in Adelaide last year, when Garlett, Chris Yarran and Betts kicked seven goals between them in a 48-point win.

Betts kept his spot this week, despite coach Brett Ratten saying on Wednesday the goalsneak's poor form put him under selection pressure.

Jamison tipped the forward to respond well.

"He's too good a player to be down for too long," Jamison said.

"We'll get him back out here on the fast deck at Etihad Stadium, it should really help him."

While Betts was the club's leading goal-kicker last season, Jamison said laying more tackles was just as important as him hitting the scoresheet after going goal-less in last week's draw with Essendon.

At the other end of the ground, Jamison is wary of a potential three-pronged Crows tall attack, including Kurt Tippett, Taylor Walker and Shaun McKernan.

But he said inexperienced Blues defenders Simon White (nine AFL games) and Jeremy Laidler (six) had shown with their performances so far this year they were up to the task.

He said both sides would be fired up after disappointments last round.

The Crows let a big lead slip rapidly away to fall to arch-rivals Port Adelaide, while Carlton wasted late chances to seal a win against the Bombers.

Jamison said there would be plenty of interest from the Blues in how former Carlton ruckman Sam Jacobs fared in what will be his first match with the Crows.

"He's a really good friend of a lot of guys at the footy club, but we'll put that on hold until Sunday."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP