Carlton forward Charlie Curnow pulled up fine from the knock he copped on the calf when flying for a mark against Essendon in the opening JLT Community Series game on Thursday night.

However the Blues have ruled out intercept marking defender Caleb Marchbank from round one although they are confident he is progressing well from back soreness.

Curnow, who showed in 2018 he was set to deliver on his promise, is one of the game's most exciting forwards and he gave Blues supporters a scare when he left the ground clutching the back of his leg.

However he was diagnosed with a corked calf after the game and the Blues confirmed that was the case on Friday.