Stuart Dew and the match committee have made three changes to the side to take on Carlton at Metricon Stadium this Saturday.

Brayden Crossley (cheekbone), Charlie Ballard (knee) and Callum Ah Chee (illness) are all out for the weekend’s match.

Brayden Fiorini, David Swallow and Jack Bowes are the inclusions.

Ballard sustained a knee injury in a tackle attempt during the third quarter against Sydney, but returned to finish the match. 

“He hurt his lateral ligament in the game and it was a really good effort actually for him to play it out and be able to finish the game,” Dew told SUNS TV.

“But unfortunately for Charlie he’s going to miss a number of weeks which is a shame because he’s really fought his way into the side and then he’s looked right at home.”

It is still unclear how long Ballard will be on the sidelines for but the club will have more information in Tuesday’s Alpha Sport Injury Update.

Dew said the injection of midfielders in Fiorini and Swallow would give the side a boost ahead of the home game against Carlton.

“Dave was rested last week, we thought he’d been getting a little bit sore across a number of weeks,” Dew said. 

“We thought he’d benefit from missing an away game and just recharging so he’s ready to go.

“Obviously Brayden’s missed a lot of footy but was really impressive last week.

“We’re really keen to get Brayden back into the side and we think he adds a fair bit of flexibility.”

Bowes returns with one NEAFL match under his belt since injuring his quad and will start on the interchange.

He’ll be expected to cover the absence of Ah Chee, who has impressed Dew since he swapped the 20-year-old into defence.

“I thought he (Ah Chee) had a really good game last week,” Dew said.

“We threw him down on the half-back line and he performed really well.

“Unfortunately he’s gotten crook during the week and he’s not going to get better by the weekend so disappointing for Cal but we look forward to getting him back ASAP.”

Round 19 AFL Premiership Season
Gold Coast SUNS v Carlton
Saturday, July 28 at 7.25pm AEST
Metricon Stadium