It looks as though Brendon Bolton is going to keep everyone guessing on Jacob Weitering. That includes Weitering himself.
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The teenager overcame an early corkie in the hip from Alex Rance to be among Carlton's best in their 43-point loss to Richmond on Thursday night.
The No. 1 draft pick of 2015, Weitering's best position will continue to be a talking point as long as Blues coach Bolton keeps moving the emerging star from end to end.
In the MCG season-opener, Weitering played forward, kicking three goals in a gutsy and impressive display.
Weitering spent most of last year as a defender, but is set to be played forward more this year as Carlton try to develop him into the game's most dangerous swingman. Just what that means in percentage terms for 2017 remains a mystery. Even on a week-to-week basis.
Weitering said he didn't know even where he'd be starting the season until he turned up at the ground on Thursday.
"Literally when I arrived at the game," Weitering said.
"Bolts likes to keep people hanging, keep me on edge and I think it's a great way of doing it."
Not that Weitering appears bothered by which end he plays. "It's just about playing my role. Obviously I played defence a whole lot last year.
"It's going to be a week by week thing. Wherever the coach puts me I'll be happy to play."
The Blues could do with Weitering at both ends. While they mustered up a score of 89 on Thursday night - three goals better than their average in 2016 - they conceded 132, which if repeated weekly will almost certainly leave them at the foot of the ladder.
Asked why he'd chosen to play Weitering forward on Thursday night, Bolton said team balance had been a factor.
"We thought we could cover enough down back," Bolton said.
"Young [Harrison] Macreadie showed enough, [Caleb] Marchbank plays taller, so we've got some more flexibility and I think in time that will only grow as our boys get more experience and opportunity down there, so we want to be a flexible team in time.
"This question will be asked all year I reckon. For his growth we'll develop him at both ends. We drafted him originally as a defender but we think in time he can be a genuine swingman."
Weitering said he was hoping to use experiences like his time spent on Richmond superstar Rance to improve.
"It's going to be match-ups like those that I'll learn a lot from," Weitering said.
Bolton said there were positives to be taken from the defeat. "We saw our future out there. I think we had five teenagers. Seven under 21. Three debutants plus our last year's crop of second-yearers," Bolton said.
"They weren't totally intimidated. We've got to tidy up with our ball use. Some turnovers hurts us the other way."
Jed Lamb was a late omission with knee swelling but Bolton said he expected the journeyman to be available for the Blues' next match against Melbourne on Sunday week.
