Jack Ison to debut for Carlton in Sir Doug Nicholls Round

Carlton has named Jack Ison to make his AFL debut in sir doug nicholls round, with the Blues set for a home clash against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night. Billy Wilson also returns, while Adam Saad will miss after scans on Thursday showed a low-grade hamstring strain.

Carlton and Jack Ison

Ison’s first AFL game comes in a side that has been reshaped for Carlton’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round home fixture. The club said, "The team is in for Carlton’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round home clash with the Western Bulldogs."

The game starts at 7:35pm, and Josh Fraser will coach his first match as Carlton’s Interim Coach for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season. That puts the debut on the same night the club is trying to reset its line-up and get more out of a group that has been shuffled again.

Adam Saad's absence

Saad is expected to miss just one week after hurting himself at training yesterday and later having scans on Thursday. His absence removes one of Carlton’s most experienced defenders from a match that already brings a fresh look to the back end of the season.

Four players are entering the game with single-digit game tallies in their careers to date, a sign of how young parts of the side now are. Ison joins fellow 2026 AFL debutants Harry Dean and Jagga Smith in that group, while Wilson’s return gives Fraser one more established option as the Blues work through the round.

Marvel Stadium lineup

The selection leaves Carlton with a different shape for its home game at Marvel Stadium, where the focus will sit on how quickly the debutants settle and how the returning players fit around them. For Ison, the first answer comes under lights on Saturday night, in a side that has already been adjusted by injury and selection calls before the bounce.