Carlton coach Brett Ratten won’t nominate the AFL club’s No.1 ruckman but he’s looking forward to watching the candidates stake their claims.

Robbie Warnock, who carried that status for most of last season, will make his injury comeback through the VFL this weekend, with a view to an imminent AFL return.

Fellow big men Matthew Kreuzer and Shaun Hampson delighted the coach with starring roles in last Thursday’s AFL win over Richmond.

Kreuzer’s injury troubles over the past two seasons and Hampson’s form and injury concerns mean the trio have never played together.

Ratten is keen to discover whether three’s a crowd in the Carlton ruck department, or whether they can combine as a potent triple-threat.

But he sidestepped a question on who he regarded as the No.1.

“It’s interesting,” the coach told reporters on Monday.

“We haven’t trialled it with the three in the same team.

“We’ve never had the three up and going, ready to play, all together in good form.

“It might be something when Robbie comes back.

“When they’re all up and going, it will be good to see.”

While Warnock is at least another round away from an AFL return, defenders Michael Jamison and Nick Duigan are being strongly considered to play Brisbane at the Gabba on Thursday night.

Both returned from injury through the VFL on Saturday, although Ratten said the five-day break between the VFL and AFL fixtures might count against them playing the Lions.

Having been hit hard by injuries to key players for last year’s finals series, the Blues will follow the lead of reigning premiers Geelong and take a conservative selection approach this season.

“(We want) to make sure that they get a lot of consistency in their season without another hiccup along the way,” Ratten said.

“We don’t want to fatigue them first-up.”

Ratten, a 255-game Carlton player, will on Thursday night coach the club for the 100th time.

He was chuffed that he will now have his name permanently attached to two lockers, with both coaches and players earning that honour when they reach triple-figures.

Ken Hands and Norman Clark are the only other Blues to have achieved the player-coach 100-game double.

But Ratten was not expecting an easy night against the Lions, who belted Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday.

The Carlton coach said Brisbane veteran Simon Black’s ball-winning and the Lions’ wealth of running players posed big dangers.